The Icebringer 2: Sisters of Origin
by Sango-Is-Alone
Summary: *SPOILERS FOR THE ICEBRINGER* Ever since Roland was brought back, he's been able to see and talk with Leesa. When Roland's visions suddenly turn dark, he struggles to figure out what Leesa's trying to tell him. Experience the Vault Hunters' journey to find Leesa as they have to face what lies within Lyptus. May0, Lil/Rol, Mord/OC. Reminder: this story is not all about romances.
1. Prologue: Roland's Dream

**OMG here we are! The start of The Icebringer 2: Sisters of Origin! Ahhhh 3**

**Anyways, I know I said that I would finish the Synopsis before starting the sequel but the Synposis is taking FOREVER to finish. So while I'm working on this story, I will be adding to the Synopsis and eventually post it to Icebringer 1. Key word EVENTUALLY.**

**There's one new thing I want to attempt with this story and if no one likes it, I can change it. There will be certain chapters where it will still be in 3rd person POV, BUT if the chapter has a person's name in it, they will be able to think freely. **

**For example if a chapter is called Maya's Wish or something like that, it will be a typical chapter but everything italicized AND bold will be their thoughts. This is the first chapter to have this. It will have Roland's thoughts alongside the actual story. It won't be too often or obnoxious when it happens, but I thought it would be easier and give a kind of narrative side to this story.**

**Just let me know what you guys think and if it's confusing I can stop doing it.**

**And now... Let the new journey begin!**

* * *

**_Ever since Leesa brought me back I've been able to communicate with her. Sometimes she'll randomly be standing beside Mordecai while we're talking or she'll say hi to me and ask me how I'm doing. _**

**_Recently though... She's been different. She looks darker in a way and our conversations are bleak. She stands alone when I do see her and one time, she was covered in blood. _**

**_I've yet to tell anyone I have this ability to converse with Leesa because I don't want the others to freak out. Leesa's been trying to tell me something, I know it. I just can't figure it out._**

**_On occasion, she's showed up in my dreams. It's always about memories that involve our companions or something bright... Something that makes her happy. _**

**_I've been wondering more and more about what's going on with her in the other dimension and I fear that she's losing the battle..._**

_Roland sat on his knees while staring down into a giant tear in the ground before him. He was sitting with his knees barely touching the tear's edges. Giant spheres of purple light flew around him when he reached his arm down into the tear. _

_"Come on! Come on!" Roland's eyes scanned the purple dimension that was underneath him while he held his arm out._

_From within the tear, a hand reached out and grabbed onto Roland's wrist. Roland could see Leesa's face come into view as she struggled to hold on. _

_"I've gotcha!" Roland called out while leaning forward to use his other hand to grab onto Leesa's arm. He moved back, slowly pulling Leesa from the tear. When her head passed the tear, she gasped out for air as if breathless, "Roland!"_

_"Everything's okay! You're okay!" Roland moved his hand up Leesa's arm to grab onto her shoulder. His eyes widened when a hooked claw came out from the tear and sunk into Leesa's back._

_Leesa cried out in pain as the claw began dragging Leesa back into the tear. _

_Roland shook his head as he held onto Leesa's arm tightly, "No no no no!"_

_"Roland!" Leesa shrieked while digging her nails into Roland's right wrist. "Help me!"_

_While still pulling with the arm Leesa clung to, Roland leaned over her and tried pulling the claw from Leesa's back, "Let her go!" The claw dug deeper until it completely pierced through Leesa's torso. _

_"Roland!" Leesa screamed again as he backed up to grab onto her arm again. _

_"I'll get you free, I promise!" Roland kept pulling on Leesa, desperately trying to get her out of the tear._

_Leesa reached forward and placed her hand on the back of Roland's neck. She pulled him in close to her face, "End the suffering..."_

_Roland choked on a breath as Leesa's eyes turned into ice and her teeth grew into fangs. She hissed at him, "Go to the key!" The claw ripped Leesa from Roland's grip and dragged her back down into the tear. Roland immediately jumped forward through the tear after Leesa and held his arm out towards her. _

_As Leesa's hair whipped around in front of her face, her normal features returned. She reached her arm up as her fingers brushed against Roland's before she vanished and all Roland could feel was cold water drenching him._

Roland shot up in bed as sweat soaked his shirt and face. He breathed out heavily and looked around his room in the darkness. He wiped his forehead of sweat and got off his bed to walk into the bathroom. All he wore was a gray shirt and black boxers. When he flicked on the light he jolted back slightly when his eyes landed on the mirror.

Standing behind him was Leesa with her head bowed down so her hair was covering her face. She was pointing at the mirror with her right index finger which was twitching abnormally. Roland watched the reflection as blood smeared its way down the mirror to spell out a word.

_**Lyptus...**_

"Mm morning!" Lilith came up from behind Roland and walked into the bathroom. She wore one of Roland's red shirts and her hair was tossed around in a messy manner.

In the mirror, Lilith walked right through Leesa's form. When she passed through, Leesa's face snapped up and her hair flew around her. She opened her fanged mouth and screeched before vanishing. Roland stood completely still, staring at where Leesa had been.

"You okay?" Lilith turned to look at Roland in concern.

Roland nodded, "Just tired."

"I hear that." Lilith smiled and ran the water in the sink to wash her face. She looked up into the mirror while wiping the water off her skin, oblivious to the word written in blood that Roland could see.

"I can't believe Axton and Brick are leaving today!" Lilith turned and walked over to Roland while grabbing onto his right hand with both of hers.

"They've been planning this for months now." Roland added while looking down at Lilith's face.

"Yeah, well the days just kind of sneak up on- Roland!" While Lilith had been talking, she looked down at Roland's hand. "Your wrist!" She lifted up Roland's hand to show the giant claw marks that were dug into Roland's wrist.

Roland stared in disbelief at his wrist, "I don't..."

"How did this happen?" Lilith asked while pulling Roland over to the sink to wash the giant wounds in his wrist. When the cold water hit Roland's wrist, he realized just what happened. He looked up and saw Leesa in the background again. Tears were streaming down her face as she held onto her stomach with blood pouring from it.

_**What happened in my dream affected me here... That's never happened before.**_

"Roland seriously, what could have caused this?" Lilith asked as she inspected the wounds closely.

Leesa opened her mouth to speak which caused blood to come pouring out. She was able to choke out, "Highlands" before vanishing again.

Roland stared at Lilith, "There's something I need to tell you and everyone else."

oOOOOOOOo

"You've been able to talk to Leesa this entire time?" Mordecai asked while sitting in a booth in Moxxi's bar. On his shoulder was his Hawnks that was steadily growing up.

"I assumed they were just a side effect of coming back to life so suddenly." Roland explained.

_**Why am I lying to them?**_

"What has she been saying to you?" Maya asked from her seat across from Mordecai. Her hand was placed on top of her small belly.

"It was all just small talk until last night. I've never been into contact with her or have woken up with an actual injury." Roland answered, "In this dream, she told me to 'end the suffering' and to 'go to the key'. She then wrote 'Lyptus' on my mirror and mentioned the Highlands."

_**I don't have the heart to tell Mordecai about all of the blood and the way Leesa looked...**_

"Wait... Didn't the Eridian mention a Lyptus?" Salvador responded after taking a drink from his mug.

"Yeah he did!" Maya exclaimed, "He told Icebringer that he could see she wasn't a part of Lyptus anymore!"

**_That's got to be it. I don't know what or who Lyptus is but we need to figure it out and soon!_**

"We should start in the Highlands. It could very well be a lead to find Leesa." Mordecai smiled, "I hope it's a lead."

Maya got out of her seat, "Should we get Axton and Brick to stay for this?"

Roland shook his head, "They've been wanting to do this for a long time. We can handle it."

"When do we go then?" Maya asked.

"We're not going, Maya. We have to stay here to make sure nothing happens to our child." Zero warned, "If this does lead to us finding Leesa, we need to be distanced."

"Zero, I understand your concern." Maya walked up to Zero and grabbed onto his arm while leaning into him, "I really miss Leesa. Can we please go to the Highlands? If this lead falls flat, we'll stay home when another lead appears."

Zero looked down at Maya, "Fine, but you're staying by me at all times."

Maya smiled, "You got it!"

"You're very happy for a pregnant lady!" Salvador excitedly held up his mug.

Maya moved away from Zero and placed her hands on her hips, "And what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Eh heh heh... Nada." Salvador slid down in his seat.

**_It's good to know everyone still gets along. _**

"Can you imagine what it's going to be like seeing Leesa again?" Maya asked while sighing happily, "It's been too long!"

Mordecai looked down into his mug sadly, "Yeah..."

_**I can't imagine what Mordecai must be going through. I may have lost Lilith when I died but I didn't have to experience it until Leesa brought me back. Mordecai has to sit here without knowing what's happening to his girlfriend. **_

_**If this lead falls through, I won't give up. Leesa has to come back soon.**_

Roland reached forward and grabbed his mug off the table in front of him, "I know I never officially met Leesa but she sounds like a fighter. I'm sure she's strong enough to be there when we go save her." Roland held his mug out in the middle of everyone, "To Leesa!"

Mordecai looked over at the mug before smiling, "To Leesa..." He clanked his mug against Roland's.

The rest of the gang clanked their mugs together and cheered, "To Leesa!"

_**I desperately hope I'm right and Leesa is still there. I don't think she knows how much she means to everyone.**_

Roland felt a slight burning sensation on the sides of his head save for the top center. He reached up and touched his shaved head underneath his hat to discover nothing there.

_**... What are you trying to tell me Leesa? **_

* * *

**You guys have no idea how tempted I was to put this:**

Zero looked down at Maya, "Fine, but you're staying by me at all times."

Maya smiled, "You got it!"

_**I shipped that before it was a ship.**_

**OMFG I wanted to do that just to see what you guys would say about Roland haha**

**I know Maya seemed a little wonky but guys, she's pregnant. Expect mood swings sometimes xD**

**Well, what do you guys think about the beginning of the sequel!? EEE you guys! I'm so flipping excited!**


	2. Departure

**I have a kickass drawing I want to use for the cover of this story but it's kind of a spoiler... Once I get to a certain point in the story, I'll change the cover to it. I may change the cover for the first Icebringer as well. I'm not sure what I'd want to change it to though.  
**

**And to the concerned review about not seeing a lot of Axton and Brick:**

**Do not worry! Although Axton and Brick won't be on Pandora, I will have chapters about their adventure on Menoetius! To be honest, quite a bit of these adventures won't take place on Pandora. BUT hopefully it doesn't bother you guys that much. **

**Does anyone have ideas on what their version of the other dimension looks like? I'd love to hear your ideas!**

* * *

The entire gang was outside of Moxxi's bar waiting for Tannis and Scooter to finish their homemade shuttle.

"Do you think the shuttle will be stable enough to reach Menoetius?" Lilith asked while crossing her arms.

Axton smiled, "Let's hope so!" Axton looked down at Maya as she clung onto him, "Uh, Maya... You can let go now..."

"I'm going to miss you!" Maya cried out.

Zero chuckled as he walked up and pulled on Maya by her shoulders, "They'll be back in no time."

Maya reluctantly let go of Axton to immediately hug on Brick, "I'll miss you too!"

Brick patted Maya's head, "Same here."

Maya pulled away and walked over to a bench and sat down, "No one told me my back would hurt this much!"

Roland shook his head while smirking at Maya's change in personality.

Brick slung his giant bag onto his shoulder, "Are you sure you don't want us here, slab?"

Zero nodded, "We can handle it."

Brick pushed Zero's shoulder, "Don't let Maya give birth without us!"

"I'm not going there. Maya got mad at me for how I was walking the other day." Zero explained while looking over at Maya, "I may be new to this but I'm not _dumb_."

Brick laughed heartily, "Smart man!"

Axton walked over to Roland and Mordecai, "Make sure this lead doesn't fall through. We need Leesa back home."

Mordecai nodded, "We're getting her back this time."

Axton reached forward and patted Mordecai on his arm, "If you guys need help, ECHO us."

Roland reached his hand forward, "Be careful out there, soldier."

Axton smiled and shook Roland's hand, "You too. It's been good having you back, Roland."

"Let us know what you find." Lilith mentioned, "I'm curious about it, too."

Axton nodded, "Gotcha."

Salvador handed Axton a rocket launcher, "You may need this."

Axton picked up the launcher and looked it over, "It's a Maliwan... But something is off about it."

"It's a Norfleet. Most powerful rocket launcher ever manufactured. This one is a corrosive." Salvador explained.

Axton whistled, "Sweet! You really think we might need this?"

"Better safe than sorry." Salvador smirked, "Take care."

Axton and Salvador shook hands, "Kick some ass."

Tannis walked up to the group with Scooter, "After countless hours of working with this disgusting, pathetic-"

"Quit complimenting me, Tanny!" Scooter chuckled out, "The shuttle is finished! Ya'll can leave whenever you want!"

Axton looked over to Brick, "Ready?"

"I was born ready."

Brick and Axton waved goodbye to the group before following Tannis and Scooter to the shuttle.

Salvador looked over at Roland, "I'm going to see them off."

Roland nodded as he watched Salvador run after Brick, Axton, Tannis, and Scooter.

Lilith leaned towards Roland, "You sure this was the right decision?"

Roland glanced over at Lilith, "We can't keep them here when they want to leave. It's bad for morale."

"Is... Is Leesa here?" Lilith asked with a concerned tone of voice.

Roland looked around the area until his eyes came across Leesa. She was standing on top of a roof nearby Moxxi's bar. Her eyes followed Brick and Axton until they were out of sight. She then directed her eyes over to Roland while placing a hand in her shorts' pocket. Leesa pulled her hand back and held her hand out while in a fist.

Roland watched on for a moment as Leesa stood completely still before he slowly slid his hand inside of his pocket. He choked on a breath when he felt a piece of paper in his pocket. He pulled out the paper and unfolded it. All that was on the paper was a giant elaborate wrist watch with its hands pointing at three fifty. Roland dropped the paper and backed up when the it suddenly caught on fire. He started choking when flames surrounded the area and smoke clouded the sky. He desperately looked for his friends but couldn't find them.

Leesa slowly walked from the flames while still holding onto something in her fist. She stopped right in front of Roland and lifted her fist to open it and reveal a big chunk of blue hair.

Roland shook his head and backed up more, "What the..."

"Roland?" Lilith grabbed onto Roland's arm, "Are you alright?"

Roland blinked and saw that the flames has subsided and Leesa had vanished. He nodded slowly, "Yeah... I just... We need to head out as soon as possible."

"I'm with ya there! I'll go get Glacier." Mordecai started walking towards his house.

"How's her training going?" Maya asked which brought Roland's attention to her.

Mordecai turned to walk backwards and smiled, "She's proven to be a fighter just like Bloodwing!" He faced front again and continued walking.

Maya glanced over, "What are you staring at Roland?"

"Did you... Did you cut your hair?" Roland asked while walking up to Maya.

"N-No?" Maya lifted her hand to touch the bangs that framed her face.

Zero sat down next to Maya, "Your bangs are slightly uneven."

"That's so weird." Maya muttered, "I don't remember cutting them."

"What were you doing at three fifty AM?" Roland asked while shoving his hands in his pockets.

Uhm, I was asleep?" Maya answered, "Why, Roland?"

Roland looked down at the ground before retrieving his hands and taking off his hat. He ran his hand across the top of his head while sorting through his thoughts.

"Roland, why did you ask Maya about what she was doing?" Zero asked for Maya again while watching Roland's eyes systematically shift through different emotions.

Roland spun around and scanned the rooftops for any sign of Leesa.

"Roland!" Lilith called out while reaching forward to grab his wrist. He pulled away before Lilith could make contact and stepped forward, still searching for Leesa.

Zero stood up, "What's the matter with you-"

"Leesa!" Roland shouted while continuously spinning around, "Tell me what you want!"

"Roland, come on..." Lilith started, "I know you're stressed out-"

"You don't know anything about this, Lilith." Roland turned around and stood in front of her, "You don't have to see Leesa like I do. She's not normal." Roland moved his head slightly when he felt a breath touch his neck.

"Okay, okay. I don't know what you see or what you're feeling. Can you just calm down and talk to us?" Lilith asked quietly.

Roland looked back at Lilith and saw Leesa standing behind her. When his eyes met hers, Leesa shook her head and placed a finger on her mouth.

Roland sighed, "I'll be fine. I just need to be away from Sanctuary."

Lilith nodded, "We'll leave soon."

"Would it help if you ignored her?" Zero asked.

Roland looked over at Zero, "I don't think she'd let me ignore her at this point." He took a deep breath, "Let's get another drink before we leave."

Lilith followed Roland into Moxxi's bar, leaving Maya and Zero alone outside. Zero watched the two of them walk off until Maya wrapped her arms around his waist. He moved his attention down to Maya, "How are you feeling?"

"My spine feels like it's going to break, but other than that I'm fine." Maya smiled.

"I don't understand why you're in such intense pain. Your belly hasn't grown that much, yet." Zero remarked.

Maya glared at Zero, "What in skag hell does that-"

Zero cut Maya off by lifting up his helmet and kissing her, "Shush. I didn't mean any offense."

Maya instantly smiled as Zero wrapped his arms around her, "Are you excited?"

"About our child or finding Leesa?" Zero asked.

"Both."

"I'm very nervous about what the future will bring but I am excited nonetheless." Zero answered.

"Which one were you answering?"

"Both."

Maya laughed lightly and placed her hands on Zero's sides, "I feel the same. I have the same worries as the mothers in these books I've been reading, but... I also have _other _worries."

"Go on."

"We live on Pandora, hon." Maya sighed, "Our child won't have a safe existence."

Zero brushed back Maya's bangs behind her ears and then placed his hands on both sides of her face, "We'll make it work, I promise."

Maya teared up, "Damn these emotions."

"I find it cute when you get furious over everything."

"You're still not over the toast this morning?" Maya asked while grabbing onto Zero's arms.

Zero chuckled, "Butter eventually makes toast soggy."

"It's like they expect you to eat the toast as soon as the fucking knife hits the bread! What if I need to breathe between spreading butter on my toast?!"

"I will definitely miss these moments."

* * *

**Phew. Sorry for the delay! I didn't expect to get so distracted o-o**

**Anywhos, I realize how sudden the feeling of the sequel has changed from its predecessor. I will say now that this story is a bit more cryptic, creepy, etc because of Leesa communicating with Roland. **

**I decided to add a tiny itty bitty bit of May0 at the end because, well, I tried to not put a cliffhanger. That was surprisingly hard for me to do o-o**

**I already have a feeling that pregnant Maya is going to be so much fun to write lol**

**Anyone think they have any ideas on what Leesa's been trying to tell Roland? Here are the clues:**

**- The reoccurring quote: End the suffering.**

**- The burning feeling Roland experienced**

**- The clock that said 3:50**

**- Flames**

**- Maya's hair being cut **

**- Blue hair in Leesa's hand**

**- Lyptus**

**- The Highlands**

**- Giant claw piercing Leesa's back**

**- A ton of blood in multiple clues**

**- And she doesn't want Roland to tell Lilith about what recently happened.**

**PM or review your ideas! More clues will be discovered as the story progresses! The claw marks Leesa left on Roland's wrist and him finding the paper in his pocket aren't technically clues.**


	3. Answers in Overlook

**First and foremost, I apologize for not updating sooner. I haven't been really in the mood to work on my story because of this one person harassing me about it. **

**Not really going to go into much detail there here but I want to clear some things up just in case anyone else has these thoughts: **

**I did not steal my story from anyone. This person brought up SLIGHT similarities between this story and another and automatically assumed I stole bits and pieces and made my own story.**

**1. My story was published before the story I supposedly stole from. How can I steal ideas from someone after my story was already published and was multiple chapters in?**

**2. I've never read said story until I was accused of stealing. I see SOME similarities but holy crap that happens. Their story is different from mine so let's all be adults here.**

**3. I did not put the links to my social sites so I can be harassed by anons from here. **

**So please, stop.**

**Back to the story:**

**Everyone's ideas for what's going on were wonderful! A couple of you are actually slightly correct! I can't elaborate anymore than that because of spoilers, but man. Good job guys!**

**In regards to Skylar:**

**You didn't miss anything. The reason why Lilith can't see Leesa even though she has Phase Walk has not been explained yet. Once we get to the chapter where it is explained, I will let everyone know in the A/N.**

* * *

As Salvador and Mordecai drove two technicals around the Highlands by Opportunity, Roland kept and eye and ear out for any signs from Leesa.

Salvador slowed down the bandit technical with Roland and Lilith in the back of it, "What are we looking for, exactamente?"

Roland placed his hand on the side of the car, "Anything suspicious. I've been trying to see if Leesa is here but she hasn't shown up yet."

Mordecai pulled up with Zero and Maya and stopped next to Salvador. He leaned back in his seat, "Do we even have any ideas on what Lyptus is?" Glacier flew around Mordecai's technical while screeching excitedly.

"Lyptus could be the name of another Vault or it could very well be a person." Lilith answered.

"What if Lyptus is another Siren?" Maya asked while shifting in the back of Mordecai's technical.

"Or an Eridian?" Mordecai added.

"It could be a previous Icebringer Siren..." Zero checked the ammo count in his pistol, "We can't keep driving around without knowing what to look for."

"What should we do, Roland?" Lilith asked, placing her hand on his shoulder.

Roland kept scanning the Highlands, "We could go to Overlook and ask Karima is she knows anything about a Lyptus."

Mordecai nodded, "Meet you guys there!" He placed his foot on the gas and drove off, taking a steady and slow drive to make sure Maya was not hurt. Glacier flew in circles where the technical had been before flying after Mordecai.

"Hang on, amigos!" Salvador slammed down the gas pedal and took off after Mordecai, surpassing him. Roland and Lilith were moved forward slightly but stabilized each other for the crazy drive Salvador was taking. The two bandit technicals drove over and across hills and through the creeks until they entered the tunnel that led to Overlook. Halfway through the tunnel, a stalker was walking in the road. It turned its head toward Salvador's car and leaned down like it was going to crouch.

Roland looked on as Salvador yelled out excitedly and drove right over the stalker. Blood and guts splattered around the car and the sight made Roland's heart ache. He placed a hand on his chest and looked around frantically.

"What's wrong?" Lilith shouted over the engine.

"Did Leesa ever mention anything about stalkers?" Roland asked once his eyes landed on Lilith.

She shook her head, "Did something happen?"

"She's affecting my emotions now." Roland simply answered, "Something about that stalker's death... Hurt."

Salvador slowed down the car once they exited the tunnel and he pulled up the hill to Overlook. He turned off the technical and hopped out. When Mordecai pulled up, Lilith climbed out the back of Salvador's technical and walked to Mordecai's door.

"Did Leesa ever tell you about stalkers?" Lilith asked while opening the door before Mordecai could. As soon as Mordecai stepped out of the car, he held out his arm for Glacier to land on it. She side stepped across Mordecai's arm onto his shoulder and rubbed her beak against his neck.

Mordecai nodded while letting his arm fall back down to his side, "Leesa told me her father created them."

"What? How?" Maya asked while Zero jumped out of the back. He turned around and grabbed onto Maya's sides to lift her out of the technical.

"He wanted to see if he could make Sirens to exceed the six Siren limit. He took Leesa's blood and tried to inject it into women and each one mutated into stalkers." Mordecai explained while slamming his door shut.

Salvador walked up to Mordecai with Roland, "That must have been a lot of attempts."

"There were only eight. Somehow the stalkers were able to breed and made the majority of the stalker population."

Maya started crying, "That is so messed up! Why would he do such a thing?!"

Zero immediately pulled Maya into a hug.

"Can I kill him?!" Maya asked through her tears.

Zero couldn't help but chuckle, "No Maya. He's dead, remember?"

"Can we get Leesa to bring him back and then kill him again?"

"No Maya..." Zero brushed Maya's hair comfortingly.

Mordecai crossed his arms, "Has that been fun, Zero?"

"I swear, Mordecai, if you make one more snide comment I will rip your throat out-" Maya spun around in Zero's arm and tried to pull her gun off her hip. Zero took the gun from her and held onto her wrists.

Mordecai held his arms up in fear and backed away, "I apologize."

Salvador busted into laughter while Roland shook his head, "Come on."

Maya calmed down and allowed Zero to hold her left hand. Zero whispered in Maya's ear, "Let's try not to kill anyone."

"I can't make any promises." Maya whispered back while drying her wet face with her hand.

Roland led the way through Overlook with everyone following behind him.

Lilith looked around, "The town seems to be improving."

"I came here a few times to help repair the homes and pub." Mordecai responded while brushing Glacier's feathers with his hand as she cooed softly.

"So this is where you've been sneaking off to the last few months?" Lilith asked as she caught up to Mordecai. Glacier hopped from Mordecai's shoulder onto Lilith's and rubbed Lilith's face with hers. Lilith smiled and placed her hand on the side of Glacier's wing.

"I actually like this town. It has great potential to be another Sanctuary." Mordecai answered.

Glacier flew off of Lilith's shoulder and landed on the edge of a gutter on Karima's roof. She looked down as Roland reached the door and knocked on it three times.

Karima's hologram appeared before the group, "Hi there, guys!"

"How's everything going, Karima? You look good as far as I can tell." Roland greeted.

Karima laughed lightly, "Every one is doing much better!"

"That's good to hear." Roland responded.

Karima looked around the group to see nearly all of the Vault Hunters were there, "Did something happen?"

"No, nothing happened." Roland reassured, "We just have a question to ask you."

"Shoot."

"Have you ever heard of a... Lyptus?" Roland asked while placing his hands in his pockets.

Karima's eyes widened as she disappeared from her screen. Roland looked back at the group as they all heard Karima's door being unlocked. The door was flung open with Karima standing behind it. She has short blonde hair with a flower crown made of daisies above her bangs. Her eyes were a bright blue and her outfit was a white jumpsuit with blue accents on it.

"Get in, now." Karima waited until everyone walked into the house with Glacier flying in behind them. She closed the door quickly and locked all ten locks on her door.

Zero walked over to Karima's desk and pulled the chair from it. He rolled it close to Maya and helped her sit down on it. Maya smiled and reached her hand forward to grab Zero's hand to hold.

Lilith, Roland, and Mordecai stood in the center of the room while Salvador walked over to Karima's small bed and sat down on it. The walls were completely blocked by giant book cases crammed with tattered books. There were stairs by the side of Karima's desk that led upstairs and the ground was littered with cups and paper plates.

Karima turned around quickly, "Where did you hear about Lyptus?"

Roland looked over to Mordecai, "You'll have to explain."

Mordecai nodded, "Basically my girlfriend is an Icebringer Siren and she-"

Karima placed a hand over her heart, "Oh, my... I have to meet her! Where is she?"

Mordecai looked down, "She's trapped in another dimension."

"The one that bridges are own..." Karima nodded, "Go on."

"My girlfriend, Leesa is trapped in the other dimension and we want to free her. We uh... We never told you about this but, Roland was killed by Jack quite a while ago-" Mordecai stopped abruptly at the serious look on Karima's face.

Karima walked up to Roland and pulled out a flashlight. She place the light across Roland's eyes and noticed that his pupils did not shrink. She pulled back, "Leesa brought you back, right?"

Roland nodded, "How do you-"

"I wrote many papers on Eridians. Tannis isn't the only woman on Pandora obsessed with Eridians and their past culture. I've studied the best researchers' papers in order to track down any remaining Eridians." Karima explained. She walked over to a giant desk in the corner of her small room and opened a drawer. She pulled out giant stacks of papers and handed a stack to Roland, "This is my paper on Icebringer Sirens."

Roland looked down, "Irming King?"

"That is my pseudo name."

"You wrote about Vault Hunters too, right?" Lilith asked.

Karima handed Lilith another stack, "Yes. I've always had an interest in Vault Hunters such as yourself."

Mordecai walked up to Karima, "Please... What is Lyptus?"

Karima could hear the strain in Mordecai's voice and slowly handed him a picture from the pile of papers that she held in her arms. Mordecai grabbed the picture gingerly and looked down at it. It was a giant wall in a Vault that was covered in small words in Eridian.

"What is this?" Mordecai asked.

"This is a wall where Eridians would write down stories and legends. This particular photo captures the legend of Lyptus." Karima took the photo back, "Lyptus is a cave located around here that Eridians were sent to as a punishment."

"So Lyptus is a place..." Maya commented while glancing at Zero.

Karima nodded, "This place was so mysterious that the Eridians never knew what was inside of it. All they knew was that whenever someone was sent inside of Lyptus, they would never return out of it."

"How does this place tie in with Icebringer Sirens?" Roland asked.

"Why do you think there's a connection there?" Karima flipped through her papers, "I've never read anything that correlates those two in any form of relationship."

"Yeah, about that..." Mordecai sighed, "Leesa kind of accidentally woke up the only Eridian on Pandora and he was the gatekeeper to the other dimension that would bring the Eridians back into our dimension and he ended up dying from Icebringer but he mentioned how he could see that Icebringer was no longer a part of Lyptus and when he died, the gate opened up and the only way to close it was for Leesa to stay behind in the other dimension and from there, she brought back Roland and because of this, Roland has been able to see and hear Leesa randomly and she told him to go to Lyptus and the Highlands so here we are." Mordecai breathed out after his fast paced explanation. He explained so quickly to make sure Karima would not interrupt him again.

Karima's eyes widened as she ran over to her desk and scribbled down what Mordecai told her, "This is astounding! A relationship between Lyptus and Icebringer Sirens! I've always theorized that Icebringer Sirens had split personalities but, this... This is a breakthrough!"

"All we need to know is if we go to Lyptus, can we bring Leesa back?" Zero asked while watching Karima frantically move around her bookshelves.

She grabbed random books and placed them on her desk, "It is a possibility! No one knows where Lytpus is exactly or what is inside of it. If what you're seeing is Leesa, then you probably-"

"Are you saying Roland may not be seeing Leesa?" Salvador interrupted.

Karima stopped flipping through her books and slowly turned to face everyone, "... I'm not going to pretend that everything is all and well with Leesa in the other dimension. I can tell that you all know that Icebringer is not Leesa and Leesa is not Icebringer. Leesa is a host as all of the other Icebringer Sirens have, but this time Icebringer choses to appear outside of Leesa."

"What do you mean?" Lilith asked.

"I don't know why but out of all the Icebringer Sirens that have been recorded before Leesa... None of them have experienced Icebringer like Leesa has. I've read Dr. Lovett's experiments and Icebringer has shown up even when Leesa was a child." Karima leaned back against her desk while holding onto the edge of it, "For some reason, Icebringer favors Leesa. What you are seeing, Roland, may not be Leesa. This could all be Icebringer's doing."

Roland shook his head, "I may have never met Leesa, but she showed me everything that happened after I died. I see who she is as a person and I know this is Leesa communicating with me."

Karima sighed, "What did Icebringer say to the Eridian when she killed him?"

_Icebringer suddenly reached forward and grabbed onto Trey's face, "I don't need you alive to create the bridge." She wickedly smiled, "Phase End."_

Mordecai spoke up, "She said she didn't need the Eridian alive to create the bridge..."

"Possibly the bridge to the other dimension?" Karima asked.

Mordecai nodded, "Before Leesa went into the other dimension, she seemed so determined that she could close it..."

Karima placed her hand on her forehead and rubbed it, "Icebringer wanted in that other dimension and she may have coerced Leesa into going through the gate under the guise of protecting you all..." Karima lowered her hand, "If what you're seeing isn't Leesa... Then there must be some reason Icebringer wants you in the other dimension..."

Roland glanced over at Maya's bangs and remembered the blue hair in Leesa's hand.

"If you decide to go into the other dimension and bring Leesa back," Roland looked back over to Karima, "You all must realize that everyone else's safety comes first. If Icebringer plans to harm anyone in this dimension, you can't let her come back."

* * *

**Remember in Chapter 5 of The Icebringer? Jack had a couple of files written by Irming King. I hope this helped build everyone's theories!  
**

**I want to update this chapter before I get to class but I'm running out of time so I can't proof read. PM or review any mistakes and I'll fix it later tonight!**

**Thanks everyone!**


	4. Where Lyptus Lies

**To the Guest who hasn't read Icebringer 1:**

**I wonder how the sequel looks from the eyes of someone new o.O I would think it's a tad bit confusing xD The things you mentioned in your review are explained in Icebringer 1, but if you don't want to read it that's totally fine. Eventually I'll have a synopsis of Icebringer 1 set up so if people don't want to, they don't have to read the full story. I'll put an A/N on here whenever I do finish the synopsis. **

**To Skylar: **

**I know I need serious improvement on writing this story. I don't really notice any mistakes until after I publish them. Lately, I've been typing up the chapters and publishing them right before my class starts so I don't have time to over analyze each thing. **

**If anyone wants to be my new proof reader, let me know! There's no time restrictions and so long as you're not TOO busy, I'll let anyone do it. I just don't want proof reading my story to interfere with anyone's lives. **

**I noticed a mistake in the previous chapter that I assume confused quite a few people so I went back and edited it. **

**The weird thing is that if you read my original stories on Google Doc, you probably wouldn't be able to tell I'm the same writer! For some reason, on fanfictions I don't write as eloquently as I normally do.**

**Once again, I really do appreciate everyone's feedback!**

* * *

Karima crossed her arms over the papers still against her chest, "In my honest opinion, I don't think any of you should go after Leesa, let alone bring her back. Even if she isn't Icebringer when you find her, she will inevitably become Icebringer."

Mordecai sat down in front of Karima's bed and leaned his back against it, "Since Leesa and Icebringer are two separate beings, isn't there a way to split them up?" Glacier flew over to Mordecai's lap and under his arm. Mordecai looked down at his Hawnks and patted her head, "There has to be a way to save Leesa."

"There has been no sign of Leesa and Icebringer ever splitting. The experiments were extensive and spanned the course of over twenty years." Karima kept folding and unfolding the corners of each piece of paper in her arms as she explained, "Presumably, Icebringer cannot survive without Leesa as a host and Leesa has never been without Icebringer."

Roland glanced over at Mordecai, "Whether we bring Leesa _or_ Icebringer back is up to Mordecai."

Mordecai stopped petting Glacier and looked over to Roland in shock.

Karima shook her head and placed her reading glasses on her face while flipping through the papers in her arms. She found a stapled packet and placed it on top of the large pile before reading it aloud, "'_Test Subject 001 has shown signs of intelligence beyond what she has been taught. As a nonbeliever of innate knowledge, I began to provoke the subject until she reacted with a voice that was not her own. Said voice spoke in Eridian until I commanded it to stop. After I was done speaking, the voice inside of the subject transitioned through multiple languages until it 'matched' my own. The voice then taunted my workers and I until it caused one of my strongest men to break down into a spiraling depression within seven minutes. It then stopped and the subject's voice reappeared as if nothing had occurred. I checked up on the traumatized worker a few weeks later and discovered he had committed suicide._'"

Karima breathed out heavily and took off her glasses, "Icebringer convinced a scientist to commit suicide. Seven minutes with Icebringer changed a man's life. If that doesn't tell you that Icebringer should stay away from here... I don't know what will."

"We're not trying to find Icebringer though." Roland responded simply while crossing his arms.

"I'm sorry to say this, Roland, but there are some skewed reasons for all of you to find Leesa. Guilt looks to be like the biggest reason why any of you would go chasing-"

Lilith interrupted Karima, "We're not trying to find Leesa because we're guilty she's there! We genuinely care about her and we all want her back home." She placed her hand over her chest, "Karima, please help us find Leesa."

Karima focused her gaze on the floor and looked to the side, "I can't..."

"We have all seen what Icebringer can do." Salvador hopped off of Karima's bed, "Leesa is strong and I know she is waiting for all of us."

Karima shook her head, "You haven't seen Icebringer's full power. She is much stronger than what she's allowed you to see. Only a fool wouldn't be able to see that all of this is just a trap. Icebringer is using Leesa's image to get you all into the other dimension and I will not aid her."

Glacier flew off of Mordecai's lap as he stood up. He walked up to Karima and gently took the papers from her arms, "These papers you have here do not define Leesa."

Karima looked up at Mordecai, "I..." She didn't continue when she saw Mordecai clench his jaw.

Mordecai placed the papers onto the desk behind Karima, "I'll admit that I do feel guilty for not being able to save Leesa but that is not the only reason I want to find her." Mordecai reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, "Leesa is the kind of person to give presents to those she disagrees with. Leesa is the kind of person to force herself to live her own nightmares in order to save a stranger's life. Leesa is the kind of person who doesn't sit around and watch a man drink himself to death over his troubles. She's the kind of person to stand up and give that man a choice... A choice I never thought I would have."

Karima moved her head down to avoid Mordecai's masked stare.

"Icebringer didn't enter that dimension... Leesa did and if there's even the slightest chance that we can save Leesa, I'm taking it. Whether you help us or not is your choice, Karima. I don't blame you for your doubts but you can't expect me to leave the woman I love inside of her own nightmares." Mordecai grabbed Karima's wrist and placed the note inside of her hand, "Leesa used Phase Terror to keep herself in the other dimension. As we speak, she's being tormented."

Karima clutched onto the note and slowly lifted her head up, "I'll start looking for Lyptus."

The sides of Mordecai's mouth twitched slightly into a smile, "Thank you."

Karima moved her head to look around Mordecai, "Did Leesa tell you anything else about Lyptus?"

Roland shook his head, "All she mentioned was about the Highlands."

Zero looked up at the door, "It's getting dark."

"How in the world do you know that?" Mordecai asked while turning away from Karima. "There's no windows in this house!"

Maya placed a hand by her mouth and whispered, "He thinks he knows everything."

Zero rubbed Maya's back, "You know I heard that."

"Oh, but I don't. You're the one who knows _everything_." Maya responded.

"You're doing it again, Maya."

"Doing what?"

"... Nothing."

"You were going to say 'that pregnant thing' again, weren't you?" Maya asked while crossing her arms.

"You actually said that to her before?" Lilith asked while stifling a laugh.

"I hate to interrupt, but are you all going back to Sanctuary?" Karima asked while looking over her shoulder at the group.

"I'd rather stay here, if you don't mind." Roland responded.

Zero helped Maya stand up off the chair, "Do you have extra beds?"

Karima nodded, "I have a ton. They're all upstairs."

Mordecai held out his arm and whistled for Glacier. She flew off her perch on the railing of the stair case and landed on Mordecai's arm. Mordecai walked past Roland and Lilith and left Karima's house to stand outside.

Lilith yawned and stretched her arms out over her head. Roland placed his hand on Lilith's lower back and whispered in her ear, "Head upstairs. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Lilith grabbed onto Roland's arm, "Are you going to make sure he's okay?"

Roland nodded and watched Lilith head over to the staircase before he followed after Mordecai and Glacier. Roland saw Mordecai standing off on a hill near Karima's house while Glacier flew around in the air. Roland walked up the hill and patted Mordecai's shoulder once he reached the top.

Mordecai glanced over at Roland for a moment before looking back at the road past the hill the two stood on.

"I'm sorry we haven't done much since you've been back..."

Roland looked down at his boots, "No, it's fine. I understand how hard it must be for you right now."

"... Thanks.", Mordecai muttered under his breath.

Glacier swooped down and flew between Mordecai and Roland in rapid circles before flying back above the two.

"She's a really fast flyer." Roland commented.

Mordecai nodded while crossing his arms, "Has Leesa ever mentioned me?"

Roland paused, taken aback by the sudden question. "She used to. Her and I would have lengthy conversations about everyone."

Mordecai clenched his jaw before slowly releasing the tension, "Why doesn't she want to talk to me directly?"

Roland looked over at Mordecai, "I don't think she has a choice on who she can and can't talk to, Mordecai."

"What if she does though?"

"That's not what you should be focusing on right now."

"Then what should I be focusing on?" Mordecai asked while throwing his arms to the side, "I can't stop thinking about her, but you're the one who gets to talk to her all the damn time."

"You should be focusing on what you're going to do when you see Leesa." Roland answered.

Mordecai looked down at the ground, "You'd tell me if Leesa was in danger, right?"

Roland took a deep breath, "She is in danger, Mordecai."

Mordecai turned his head towards Roland quickly, "What?"

"She's been in danger the very moment she entered Phase Terror, but there's nothing we can do until we know where Lyptus is."

"Is that why you wanted to stay here tonight? Do you think Leesa will show up again?"

Roland slowly nodded, "We need another clue."

"Mordecai!"

Roland and Mordecai turned around to see Maya standing in Karima's doorway. She waved her arm while shouting excitedly, "Karima has pictures of Leesa! She's so dang cute as a baby!"

Mordecai looked back at Roland, "Tell me as soon as you see Leesa."

Roland watched Mordecai walk off with Glacier in tow. He turned around once the door closed and came face to face with Leesa. He jumped back slightly, "Leesa-"

"How's he holding up?" Leesa asked while holding her hands behind her back.

Roland looked Leesa up and down and noticed she looked just as she had before her cryptic messages.

"He misses you." Roland answered.

Leesa turned her head to the road and smiled, "This is where Mordecai saved me."

"After Jack had captured you?"

Leesa nodded, "Mordecai told me once that when he picked me up, he felt... Complete. He was startled by it at the time since we hadn't known each other for that long but I felt something, too. I felt safe in his arms."

"Leesa... What do you need me to do?" Roland asked.

"What do you mean?"

"These messages you've been sending me-" Roland stopped when Leesa's eye twitch and she suddenly lunged forward and grabbed onto his throat.

Roland was paralyzed in Leesa's soft grip. She leaned in towards his ear and whispered, "Salt and dust... Metal and cloth... Water and rust..."

A sudden flash of light caused Leesa to hiss and vanish. Roland stood completely still for a moment as Leesa's words buzzed around his head.

"She was here, wasn't she?"

Roland turned around to see Karima lowering her camera from her face. He slowly nodded as Karima pulled out the film roll from her old camera.

She held up the camera and smiled, "I bet you haven't seen one of these babies in a long time, huh?"

"N-No, I haven't."

Karima walked up to Roland, "What did Leesa say?"

"Salt and dust. Metal and cloth. Water and rust." Roland responded, "It's another clue."

Karima placed a hand on her chin, "Very cryptic indeed."

Leesa appeared behind Karima and placed her hand on her shoulder. As soon as Leesa came into contact with her, Karima's nose started to bleed.

"Oh darn it." Karima pulled out a napkin and wiped her nose dry.

"That's why I don't contact anyone else." Leesa removed her hand from Karima's shoulder, "I'm poison."

"That doesn't make any sense." Roland responded.

"What doesn't make sense?" Karima asked while shoving the bloody napkin back into her pocket.

Roland shook his head, "Nothing. Sorry."

"Is Leesa still here?"

Roland looked up at Leesa as she nodded and leaned across Karima's shoulder to get closer to Roland. "Ask her about Elizabeth."

"She wants me to ask you about an Elizabeth..." Roland answered.

Karima's eyes widened, "Metal and cloth..."

Roland furrowed his brow, "Does Elizabeth have something to do about what Leesa said?"

Karima smiled, "Yeah... You better thank Leesa."

"Why?" Roland looked up to see Leesa had vanished once more.

"She gave us our next move!" Karima exclaimed, "Lyptus must be out across the ocean!" Karima moved her arm to the side to show off the water past Overlook.

"I don't get how you came to that conclusion. Who's Elizabeth?"

Karima shook her head while still smiling, "Elizabeth isn't a person. It's the name of my ship."

* * *

**Now, I know it looks like Karima changed her mind super fast... Which she did. But I mean, Mordecai is so sad when it comes to Leesa ;A; He could convince anyone to go after a crazy powerful being of destruction.**

**To those who want to know what's going on with Brick and Axton:**

**Within the next couple of chapters, I will switch over to their adventures! Whoo!**

**Funny story:**

**My Borderlands 2 was doing that weird update glitch where I couldn't play online and it wasn't registering my DLCs. My BF got it to work yesterday and it only lasted until earlier today =P Now it won't register my DLCs and it won't let me play online again. Yay...**

** It was nice having Borderlands 2 around for a while.**

**PM me if you guys see any mistakes! Please and thank you!**


	5. Towards the Storm

**I hope these chapters haven't been boring with the lack of action. There's a lot of things I need to get passed with dialogue and certain scenes. **

**Excuse me while I butcher the proper terminology of ships. Ugh.**

* * *

Roland stood by the helm of the giant barque ship, Elizabeth, that was docked by Overlook. The sides were sleek and a silver metal with its name engraved in cursive on the left side. The giant wheel was made of steel and rested in the back of the main deck by the stern. A golden emblem was embroidered on the bottom right corner of every white sail. Roland turned his head to look back at the dock where Maya and Zero were. Zero's helmet flashed various icons while Maya yelled and threw her arms in the air angrily.

Lilith walked up from behind Roland, "Zero still doesn't want Maya to come with us."

"I don't blame him." Roland responded while nonchalantly placing his arm around Lilith.

Lilith leaned into Roland slightly, "I wonder what their child will end up like?"

Roland chuckled and shook his head, "Their child will be a handful, that's for sure."

Karima walked down a giant slope that led from her house to the docks. Mordecai followed suit while holding onto a giant stack of books that covered his face. He peered around the tower to watch where he was walking. Mordecai barely dodged one of Maya's flying hands as he stepped around the arguing couple.

"Why don't you understand that I don't care about your morning breath?!" Maya screamed while crying.

Zero made a question mark appear, "What? That doesn't have anything to do with Lyptus..."

"Don't chastise me! I know you were thinking about it!"

Mordecai quickened his pace, "Yeesh..."

"Looks like you two are ready to shove off!" Karima exclaimed while stepping onto her ship.

"Are you bringing your entire library?" Lilith asked while watching Mordecai carefully step up onto the ship from the ramp.

"You can't separate a girl from her books!" Karima held out her hand which caused Mordecai to stop. She stood up on her toes and grabbed a book off the top of the pile Mordecai held onto.

Mordecai sighed and sarcastically remarked, "It's totally fine. My back isn't breaking from these heavy ass books."

Roland took his arm off of Lilith and walked up to Mordecai to take some books. Roland followed Mordecai down into the cabin to store the books away.

Lilith and Karima turned to see Maya happily walk onto the ship. She had a big grin on her face and dragged Zero with her by his arm.

"We're coming with you!" Maya beamed.

"Looks like Maya won another battle." Lilith smiled while leaning back against the railing behind her.

"Did anyone even think I would win?" Zero asked.

Lilith and Karima looked at each other before shaking their heads.

"No way." Lilith answered.

Zero nodded, "I suspected as much."

Maya nudged Zero playfully, "When do we leave?"

"Once Salvador is back here." Lilith answered.

Maya rose an eyebrow, "Where did he go?"

"He went to Scooter to see if he was done making that special ECHO caller. It's supposed to be able to communicate with Axton and Brick." Lilith explained.

"Where are those two, anyways?" Karima asked while looking up from the book in her hands.

"They're heading for Menoetius." Maya responded.

Karima furrowed her brow, "Why would they go there now?"

"What do you mean?" Zero stepped forward slightly.

Karima looked over at Zero when he moved forward, "The city of Aegina is going through a giant political crisis and I heard that people have had problems entering Menoetius because of it all."

"What kind of political crisis?" Lilith moved herself from the railing while watching Karima speak.

"Let's just say there's more than one company that has the same views as Atlas had." Karima explained, "The last thing I heard about Aegina is that the crisis has caused rebellions all across Menoetius and only three cities are not involved in the situation."

Lilith looked over to the slope when she saw Salvador running towards the ship. He held up an ECHO in the air when he reached the dock, "It's all good to go!"

Maya and Zero moved to let Salvador on the ship as Lilith walked up, "Have you contacted Axton or Brick?"

Salvador shook his head, "Go ahead, chica." He handed the ECHO over to Lilith. She turned on the ECHO and waited until a connection was made with Brick's ECHO.

"Brick? Can you hear me?"

After a moment of just static, Brick's voice came on over the ECHO, "What's up?"

"How is everything? Have you made it to Menoetius?" Lilith asked with concern.

Another pause, "Not yet. Scooter's shuttle got us to Hestias' Station and now we're on a travel shuttle but there's been multiple delays."

Axton's voice came on soon after, "Did you guys find Leesa, yet?"

Lilith looked to the side to see Roland and Mordecai come back out of the cabin. She held out the ECHO to Roland as he walked up to her.

"We've found a strong lead, but we haven't found her yet."

"That's great! Let us know when you find her!" Axton exclaimed.

Lilith moved closer to the ECHO, "Karima says there's been some political issues in the city of Aegina. It sounds bad so be careful."

"Political issues? Is that what's been causing the de- -ztttt- Hey! Get away from there! Brick, stop h- -ztttt" Axton yelled between the static.

"Axton?!" Roland called out while moving the ECHO around to get a better reading.

"-ztt- Get off! -zttt- BRICK! -ztttttttt-"

Roland looked down at the ECHO in shock as it beeped when the connection was lost.

Mordecai looked over at Karima, "What kind of political issues would cause that?!"

"Basically what happened here with Atlas is happening over on Menoetius." Karima explained simply.

"What are we supposed to do?" Lilith asked while her voice strained slightly.

"We need to find a way to help them!" Salvador stepped forward, "Scooter could make another shuttle for us!"

Roland was about to make a suggestion until he saw Leesa sitting on the railing beside Salvador. Time completely stopped which caused an uneasy silence to enter the area. The wind stopped blowing, the boat stopped swaying, and everyone was frozen in time besides Roland and Leesa.

Roland walked forward until he stood right in front of Leesa, "Why are you doing this?"

"Axton and Brick will be fine." Leesa started.

"Why should I trust you?" Roland asked while his voice rose from agitation, "All you've been doing is sending me mixed signals instead of talking with me! What's with all of the riddles?!"

Leesa's eyes saddened, "I can't talk about my messages... But, I promise you... Axton and Brick are okay. I care about them as much as you do."

Roland looked down at Leesa as he felt regret for raising his voice, "How... How do you know they'll be fine?"

"I... I just do."

"Can you tell me anything?" Roland asked.

"There is one thing... But you can't tell anyone else about this. I know for sure Mordecai will argue with this logic and you need him on your side."Leesa slowly rose her hands up as two pieces of rope materialized on her lap. Roland looked on in confusion and Leesa tied an intricate knot to connect the pieces of rope together.

"I don't understand..."

"You will once I'm done explaining." Leesa held up the ends of the rope to show off the knot, "This rope as a whole is destiny. I mentioned destiny to you before, correct?"

Roland slowly nodded.

"Each piece of rope represents two separate paths on your destiny. At one end of the rope represents Axton and Brick on the shuttle," Leesa shook the left side of the rope gently, "The other side represents me in the other dimension." She shook the right side, "This knot represents the overall goal that was set out for all of you. That goal is to find me. If you stray from this knot and its path towards my end of the rope..." Leesa tugged on the left side of the rope while holding onto the right side. The knot started to unravel until the knot came apart. Leesa held onto the left rope and let the right rope fell which burst into fire as it hit the ship's deck.

As soon as the rope vanished, a scream filled with pain erupted. Roland stepped back slightly when he recognized it as Leesa's.

"If you go and find Brick and Axton, you'll discover that they are completely fine. However, because you strayed from destiny's path there will be a punishment. I will die if you don't come for me now. If you come for me, you can save me and Axton and Brick will still be fine." Leesa looked up at Roland when she finished her explanation.

"What if I split us up? I could send-"

"That's not how this works, Roland!" Leesa shouted as she wrapped her arm around her stomach. "There are certain tasks you _have _to do. Sometimes there are multiple correct tasks that will take you to the goal. Most of the time there is a right and wrong. If you pick the wrong choice, there is a punishment of some sort."

"If this is a real thing-"

"It is!" Leesa growled out.

Roland paused and watched as Leesa bled her Eridium blood from her stomach, "What's happening to you over there?"

Leesa closed her eyes before looking back up at Roland with tears in her eyes, "Please... Just hurry."

The wind suddenly picked up and blew Leesa's hair around. Roland lost his hat and turned to watch it float off above the ocean.

"Only once you have faced the storm..."

Roland turned back around to watch Leesa as her wings opened up behind her back. Rain poured from the sky and slowly filled up the floor of the ship in a layer of water.

"... Will you find Lyptus." Leesa's form turned into pure ice and shattered. The sounds of the world around Roland came back instantly. He the slight pressure of his hat back on top of his head and the rain stopped.

"What should we do Roland?" Mordecai asked.

Roland closed his eyes and took a deep breath before facing the group, "We're heading for Lyptus."

"What?! We can't just leave Axton and Brick! They could be in danger!" Maya protested angrily.

Roland took another deep breath to steady himself, "Have you ever known anything to overcome Brick? He and Axton are fine."

"How do you kn-"

Roland interrupted Maya, "You can argue with me all you want. We're heading for Lyptus."

"Why can't some of us go find Axton and Brick?" Salvador stepped forward, "I can-"

"No." Roland said firmly, "Leesa has been trapped for too long. We're all going after her."

"But why? We don't need everyone..." Zero interjected.

Roland took one final deep breath before barking out, "Brick and Axton have each other. Leesa has no one. We're all staying on this ship and that's an order."

Maya shook her head and walked down into the cabin with Zero and Salvador in tow. Karima moved to the edge of the ship, untied the tether, and threw the rope back onto the dock. Lilith followed Karima over to the crank to bring up the anchor.

Mordecai moved closer to Roland, "This must have been a hard decision."

"I thought you would be the one to argue with me. You always enjoy a good verbal fight." Roland admitted.

Mordecai sighed and hunched his back slightly, "I agree with you that Brick and Axton will be fine and... I'm tired of waiting to find Leesa."

Roland patted Mordecai's shoulder, "We all are."

"We're about ready to head off!" Karima shouted excitedly.

"What are you so excited about, Karima?" Lilith asked while helping Karima open the smaller sails.

"I haven't been sailing in such a long time. I can't wait to be surrounded by only water." Karima smiled as she passed Lilith to reach the helm. She directed the sails to pick up the wind and steered Elizabeth from the dock.

The wind blew Lilith's short hair around while she leaned forward on the railing in the front of the ship. Roland came up behind Lilith and leaned forward on the railing with her. Lilith looked over at Roland, "That must have been a tough decision."

"One of the toughest I've ever made."

Lilith turned her gaze back towards the ocean and smiled widely, "I remember how we used to be so awkward around each other."

Roland scoffed lightly, "I try to not remember that."

"Oh come on! I'm sure you're quite proud of how you were so good at playing hard to get." Lilith exclaimed.

"I didn't mean to play hard to get. You purposely did it." Roland responded while leaning more on his side to look at Lilith, "You're slipping though."

"Probably because now I have you wrapped around my finger."

Roland chuckled and turned to look over at Mordecai who was sitting on the railing on the left side of the ship. He stopped laughing when he noticed Leesa sitting next to Mordecai as he looked down at Glacier on his lap. Leesa was leaned towards Mordecai and was whispering to him. Roland gripped onto the railing behind him when he noticed that Mordecai didn't realize Leesa was talking to him. Mordecai's hand phased through Leesa's thigh as he held onto the railing underneath her form.

Roland could see the sadness in Leesa's eyes as she scooted away from Mordecai's hand. She tried to place her hand on top of Mordecai's but stopped herself. Roland closed his eyes when he saw Leesa whisper "I love you" to Mordecai. When he opened his eyes, Leesa was gone with no trace of her ever being next to Mordecai.

**Five Hours Later**

Maya sat cross legged next to the cabin door. She stared down into the ECHO caller, waiting for a sign from Axton or Brick. Mordecai sat up on the mocked crows' nest with his sniper out, scanning the area for any sign of land. Karima stood at the helm with her compass out. Salvador was standing next to Karima with a pad of paper and a pen in his hands. He scribbled down coordinates and notes for Karima as she plotted out their journey.

Zero, Lilith, and Roland stood near the front of the ship talking with each other.

"How long are we going to keep searching for Lyptus?" Zero asked, "Maya is distraught over Axton and Brick. She won't let the ECHO out of her sight."

"Unless we find another lead, we're going to keep looking." Roland answered, "I know Maya is upset but I can't help with that."

"You can help by letting her and I off this ship. Lilith could take us back to Sanctuary and I can go look for Axton and Brick."

Lilith shook her head, "I can't do that. I don't have any Eridium on me to take you guys that far."

"Even if Lilith could, no one is leaving this ship."

Zero stepped up to Roland until he was standing right in front of him, "You know I would do anything you say, Roland. I'm only looking out for Maya and the less stress on her, the better."

"I understand that, Zero, but the only way for her to feel better is if-"

"BRICK!" Maya cried out while hugging onto the ECHO, "I can hear you!"

Zero, Roland, and Lilith ran over to Maya and looked down at the ECHO in her arms.

"That was one crazy ride!" Brick exclaimed from the ECHO.

"Oh we were so worried! Are you guys okay? Where's Axton?" Maya rambled excitedly.

"We're fine, Maya, -zzttt- really. Did you honestly think that a crash could kill me?"

Maya looked up at Roland and mouthed "sorry".

Roland nodded and held out his hand for Maya to place the ECHO in.

"Where did you guys land?" Roland asked.

"We're around Myrto." Brick explained, "It's four cities -zzttt- away from my hometown."

Axton came on the ECHO soon after Brick, "Our ECHOs are badly -zzttt- damaged. We'll be dark for a while until we find a -zzttt- mechanic in Myrto to fix these."

"Good luck." Roland responded as the ECHO beeped when Axton and Brick turned off their ECHOs.

"I'm so relieved they're okay!" Maya exclaimed as Zero helped her stand up. She jumped to Roland and hugged him tightly around the neck, "You were right!"

"You need to get some rest, Maya." Zero advised.

Maya released Roland and turned to Zero, "I'll be fin-"

The waves crashed into the ship and knocked it around. Everyone scrambled to gain their footing.

"What's going on?!" Roland called out.

"There's storm clouds up ahead!" Mordecai called out from behind his sniper.

"Salvador! Read me the past five coordinates! We need to find a way around the storm!" Karima ordered.

Salvador went to flip through the papers until another set of waves knocked into the ship. Salvador stumbled which caused the notepad to fly from his hand and off the ship. "Dammit!" He cursed as he picked himself back up.

Karima gripped onto the helm, "I'm turning her around!"

Roland stared straight ahead at the gray swirling clouds and the bright lightning streaking the gray. He reached forward and grabbed Karima's arm, "We have to sail through it!"

"What?!" Karima shouted.

"Are you crazy?!" Maya cried out from within Zero's arms.

Roland moved to stand in front of Karima, "Lyptus is in the eye of the storm. Leesa told me."

"Did she actually tell you or say a riddle?!"

"Karima!" Roland grabbed onto the helm from the opposite side of Karima and stared into her eyes, "We've come so far. Don't you want to know what's inside of Lyptus?"

Karima stared at Roland before sighing in defeat, "Get Maya to the cabin."

Zero shook his head, "You've got to be kidding-"

"Do it!" Karima shouted back.

Zero didn't argue and carefully walked Maya into the cabin below deck.

"Lilith! I need you by the left sails! Salvador to the right!" Karima ordered and then looked up at Mordecai, "Take the rope hanging beside you and tie it around your waist. Take the other end and tie it to the mast of the crow's nest. Keep an eye out for any land!"

Mordecai nodded and quickly tied himself to the mast. He pulled out a pistol with a scope and held it to his eye while grabbing Glacier to hold close to his chest.

"I'm going to need you to help me with the helm, Roland."

Roland nodded and walked around the helm to stand beside Karima.

Karima leaned into the helm and stared straight ahead as the ship got closer to the storm. She narrowed her eyes and breathed out deeply, "Brace yourselves!"

* * *

**Eeee I really liked writing this chapter!**

**Writing about Roland makes me miss him so much. He's my guy in Borderlands 1 and I just T_T Why did they kill him? Ugh. It was a great story but man. Rolanddddd! **

**I've been playing a lot of Borderlands 1 so I just don't think about Borderlands 2 while I'm playing hahahahahaha I'm pathetic xD**

**Once again, racing to update this before my class starts. PM me any mistakes! Sorry!**


	6. Contact

**I apologize for how out of character Zero is so far. He's going to be a daddy, so I made him more paternal and protective over Maya. I understand how he is a challenge seeker and all. I'll do my best to fix it over time.  
**

**Also, I know ships are usually women but I never refer to a ship as a "her". I think it would get supremely confusing since there are so many characters all together right now.**

* * *

Rain pounded against the ship, Elizabeth, as Karima directed it through the storm. Gray clouds and fog distorted everyone's view and the rain made the ship's deck slippery. Roland gripped onto the helm with Karima as they both held a firm grip to steer the ship straight. Lilith and Salvador held onto the rope of the sails, waiting for Karima to give any further instruction.

In the cabin, Maya sat on one of the cots while Zero stood in front of her to bat away any luggage that flew to close to her. The pots and pans in the kitchen banged together in time with the lightning and thunder crashing outside of the small windows.

"Do you see anything, Mordecai?!" Karima shouted upwards.

Mordecai scanned the area with his scoped pistol, "Nothing yet!" Glacier softly cooed from against Mordecai's chest as the rain dampened her feathers down.

Roland braced the ground with his left leg and pushed against the helm as it tried turning against him and Karima. A wave crashed up against the right left side of the ship and knocked Karima off the helm. Karima hit the side of the ship and leaned over it slightly, teetering off the edge in an unconscious state.

"Karima!" Lilith shouted out while stumbling against the blow from the wave. She clutched onto the tight rope to keep steady as the wind blew her hair around chaotically. Lilith forced the rope to the railing and tied it around the best she could before running over to Karima. She grabbed onto Karima's shoulders and helped get her off the edge of the ship.

"Come on, Karima. Wake up!" Lilith placed Karima on the ground and checked her wrists for a pulse. When she felt the heart beat, Lilith sighed in relief and brushed Karima's wet hair from her face, "We need you! Come on!"

The rope Lilith tied came undone and caused the sails open up. Lightning struck near the sail and caught it on fire. Mordecai jumped back at the sudden fire and moved to stand away from the sail, "Fire!"

Salvador looked at the fire and saw the pole under the sail spinning around in the harsh winds. He pulled the rope he held onto tightly while trudging towards the other rope. He picked it up and stood in the middle of the ship, clutching onto both ropes to keep the sails closed and motionless.

Roland's wet hands slipped from the helm and he stumbled to the side as the ship titled to the right. The helm spun around crazily as the ship grew dangerously close to tipping.

Salvador slid to the side and started losing his grip on the ropes, "Mierda!" His feet lifted from the ground until he was hanging onto one of the ropes.

Roland crawled across the slanted floor while holding onto the railing. He reached Lilith and grabbed onto her and Karima to steady them.

Mordecai fell off of the crow's nest and held onto Glacier with both his arms, causing his pistol to fly into the ocean. With a firm grip on Glacier, Mordecai reached forward and grabbed onto the rope tied to the crow's nest's mast.

Roland looked down at Lilith to see her tattoo light up brightly. She moved her head up to look at Roland, "Phase Walk."

For a split second, Roland could see one of Lilith's eyes flash purple before a bright light enveloped the entire ship. Roland went to close his eyes out of habit until he saw a form standing off to the side. His eyes adjusted to the bright light as time slowed down. Beyond the bright white light and the purple swirls, Roland could see a dark form watching as everyone traveled through the other dimension. Roland squinted his eyes but could not make out any details of the figure.

The light faded and Roland closed his eyes shut quickly at the sudden lack of light. When he opened his eyes, he saw the sea was calm and the rain had subsided. Surrounding the upright ship was a giant circle of gray clouds and mist that rose high above them. He could see the rain pouring and the lightning striking all around them, but it never came close to the ship. The fire on the sails had died down. Roland slowly released Lilith and Karima to stand up and check on everyone else.

Salvador was lying on the floor of the ship while still holding onto his rope. Mordecai was in the process of climbing up the rope back to the crow's nest while Glacier sat at the top and shook her feathers of water. Zero and Maya slowly emerged from the cabin. Zero's arm was draped around Maya's shoulders and across the side of her face was a small cut that was lightly bleeding.

Karima's eyes fluttered open. She leaned forward and held onto her head, "Ugh, what happened?"

Lilith shook her head, "I don't know... I feel tapped out all of a sudden."

Roland continued walking past everyone until he reached the railing on the right side of the ship. He gripped onto it and smiled at what he saw beside the ship.

"Is that... The storm?" Maya asked while pointing at the darkness surrounding them.

"Looks like it!" Mordecai scrambled up onto the crow's nest, "Where the hell are we?"

Roland released the railing, "Lyptus."

Slowly, everyone walked over to where Roland was and looked out over the side of the ship. Mordecai grabbed onto the post of the crow's nest and leaned over to see Lyptus.

Spread out before the Vault Hunters and Karima was a flat plot of rocky land. The small island spread out four times the length and width of the ship. On the back of the island was a giant opening for a cave that led down underneath the water. The rocky island had no plant life or wildlife anywhere on it.

"This is Lyptus?" Zero asked while looking out over the island.

"You said Lyptus was a cave, right?" Lilith glanced over to Karima as she looked on in shock.

Karima slowly nodded her head, "Lyptus is a cave... Used as a punishment."

Roland saw a bright light emerge from the middle of the cave entrance and slowly disappear into the darkness. He looked down and noticed how close the ship was to the island. Roland jumped over the railing and landed on the rocky terrain.

Roland stood up straight and turned around, "Let's get our supplies down here and head off."

Karima placed her hand on Salvador's shoulder, "Can you help me anchor the ship down?"

"Si, senorita." Salvador smiled as he followed Karima to the side of the ship.

Zero looked over to Maya and went to speak but she cut him off. "No more arguing. I know you do really want to go inside of Lyptus. Admit it."

Maya watched Zero as he walked past her, "I'll bring your bag up."

Maya smiled in victory as she slowly and carefully moved to sit on the outside of the railing. Roland moved closer to the ship and held out his arms for Maya. She slid off the railing and landed against Roland's chest and in his arms. He set her down to his side, "Are you going to be okay?"

Maya nodded, "I've got some pretty great body guards. I'll be fine."

Roland chuckled as Mordecai landed on the ground while swinging his bag onto his back. Mordecai walked forward and stared at the cave, "I really hope this is a good lead."

"I'm positive it will be." Maya responded.

Salvador jumped down and turned to catch the bag Karima threw down to him. He set that one off to the side and held out his arms as Karima jumped off excitedly. She landed in Salvador's arms bridal style and exclaimed, "I can't believe we've found Lyptus!"

Lilith sat on the railing and called down, "Is no one going to talk about how sudden the storm ended?" She jumped off and landed in Roland's arms who held her there for a moment before letting go.

"I thought you phase walked us, Lil." Mordecai responded while turning around to look at Lilith.

Lilith crossed her arms, "I didn't do anything."

"... Your nose is bleeding." Maya commented.

Roland watched the blood come from Lilith's nose and realized what really happened within the storm.

Lilith placed a hand to her nose and pulled it back to see her blood on it, "That is so weird..."

Maya walked up and pulled a napkin out of her pocket to hand to Lilith, "Maybe the strain from the storm got to you?"

Lilith wiped the blood away, "I-"

"Leesa caused it." Roland answered.

"What do you-"

Roland turned to Mordecai, "The reason Leesa hasn't come into contact with anyone but me is because she causes nose bleeds she does. That's what caused your nose bleed the other day, Karima." Roland faced Lilith, "When I was keeping you and Karima close to me, your tattoos lit up and you used Phase Walk. The only thing that was different is that one of your eyes turned purple like Leesa's. I think she influenced you to use your powers to get us to safety."

"Why couldn't she have done that sooner?" Lilith asked.

"Leesa said that she is poison to you all. She may have hurt you worse if she had done this sooner." Roland explained.

Zero appeared behind Maya while holding onto a duffel bag, "Why would she be poison to us and not you?"

Roland looked down, "I think it's because I was once dead..."

Karima eagerly wrote down everything Roland said in her notebook, "That would explain a lot."

Lilith shrugged, "I'm just glad she was able to help us out. If all I have to do is suffer a little nose bleed, she can help us through me all she wants to."

"Can we get going?" Salvador asked while picking up Karima's bag.

Roland nodded as Lilith walked past him to be next to Maya and Zero. Karima followed Salvador as they walked with Lilith, Zero, and Maya. Roland walked over to Mordecai and grabbed his shoulder, "Leesa has been trying to talk to you."

Mordecai smirked, "Do you know what about?"

"All I know is that she tells you she loves you." Roland answered while moving forward to catch up with the group. Mordecai stood still in thought for a moment before running after Roland with Glacier flying above him.

The entire group stopped before the cave entrance. Maya, Mordecai, and Karima each pulled out flashlights and passed them around the group. Once everyone had a flashlight, Roland walked forward and switched his on, "Let's all be very cautious. We have no idea on what's in there."

Glacier landed on Mordecai's shoulder and screeched excitedly. Mordecai patted Glacier's wing and turned on his flashlight, "Let's do this."

Roland, Mordecai, Lilith, Maya, Zero, Salvador, and Karima slowly walked down the slope into Lyptus.

Leesa stood on the ship and watched her friends disappear into the cave. A tear ran down her face as she whispered to herself, "Please, spare them all."

* * *

**Sorry to do this to you all, but Lyptus won't be explored until after some Brick and Axton adventuring! Next chapter is about those two.**


	7. Journey to Menoetius: A New Threat

**So terribly sorry for the delay. I've been working on a picture of Leesa digitally which is taking foorreeevveeerrrr.**

**Note: I'm not sure if this was established but I'm making it that between Borderlands 1 and 2, it was three years (This includes how long Borderlands 1 story took). From Borderlands 2 (this includes how long Borderlands 2 took) until now, two years. So a total of five years has taken place since Borderlands 1 until now. **

**So here are the new ages:**

**- Lilith: 32  
- Brick: 41  
- Mordecai: 44  
- Roland is the same from the beginning of Borderlands 2: 37  
- Maya: 27  
- Axton: 28  
- Zer0 is still unknown  
- Salvador: 37  
- Leesa is 39 (29 when she was forced to sleep. She obviously still aged)  
- I made Angel 19 (I have this explained in the Synopsis). Angel was 9 when Leesa was encased which means Leesa was asleep for 10 years. Angel was 16 when she first made contact with the first Vault Hunters.  
- Because it's not explained, I made Jack 40 at the time of his death. **

**- In my version, Jack, Leesa, and Angel were on Pandora before Borderlands 1. For reasons explained in the crossover, Jack was forced off Pandora with Angel after Leesa was encased. Then Borderlands 1 happens. **

**Now, let's see what Axton and Brick are up to!**

**7 hours ago**

Axton walked behind Brick as they made their way through the crowded Hes station. Hes station was almost as big as Dem's station and had a similar look on the inside. Booths promoting planets to tourists were scattered around and there was an abundance of coffee shops and restaurants. Axton could feel a pang in his heart when he and Brick passed a Dahl militia booth.

Axton and Brick wore slightly different clothing for their trip, wrapped their weapons in Lyte film, and had new identities. Axton wore a leather jacket and wore a normal brown shirt with black jeans and boots. Brick wore his normal outfit but removed all of the metal and his brass knuckles. Lyte film was invented by a colleague of Tannis which could stop scanners from detecting metal on weapons.

A guy who spotted Brick looked at his own muscles and sighed. Axton snickered lightly, "Looks like you're making the guys here upset by your hulking muscles."

"That's not my problem." Brick responded, "What line are we supposed to be in?"

Axton tried looking around Brick to see the signs that led to certain travel shuttles, "We need to go to 310 Men-Clymene."

A man wearing a black business suit walked up to Axton, "Oh, sir! Did you say you were going to dock at Clymene?"

Axton and Brick stopped to face the man. Axton nodded, "Yeah, why?"

"I'm sorry to ask this of you, but I really need to get to Clymene. My wife is in labor in Clymene and there weren't any more seats available for my brother and I. Do you think we could trade seats? I have two for Aegina." The man held out his two card readers for Aegina. The card readers were all thin green cards with the name of the location on the front. A scanner code was on the back with information about the location.

Axton noted the desperate look on the business man, "S-sure, dude." Axton looked back at Brick, "We'll have to travel farther, but we can do it, right?"

Brick nodded and pulled out his card, "Good luck." He handed his card over to the man while Axton did the same.

"Oh, thank you!" The man grabbed the cards and handed his two to Axton while shaking his hand excitedly, "Thank you so much!" The man turned around and forced his way through the crowd.

Axton looked down at the cards, "I guess we're heading for 532 Men-Aegina." He handed a card to Brick, "Have you been to Aegina?"

"Once. It's the center hub of Menoetius." Brick held out his card flat and pressed his big index finger against the card's surface. A colorful hologram opened up above the card to show off the city of Aegina. The buildings were made of white, silver, and blue swirled marble and rose high into the sky with domed tops. The balconies that lined the multiple buildings were overflowing with bright flowers and long vines that crawled down towards the ground. The roads were paved in gray and with cherry blossom trees lining the outskirts of the giant city.

Axton looked at the image of Aegina and then back up at Brick, "The planet you came from... Has cities like this?"

"Hmph. I didn't come from the lavish portion of the planet." Brick responded while placing his palm over the hologram to force it away.

Axton stood up straighter and looked over the giant mob of people in front of him and Brick, "I think I see the sign for our shuttle! Over to the right!"

Brick turned his head and spotted the sign Axton pointed out, "Well, alright." Brick forced himself between the people standing around aimlessly. Axton followed behind in the path Brick created.

When Brick reached the line, he stopped and slowly walked in the same motion as everyone in front of him. Up ahead was a man dressed in a blue and black uniform. The uniform resembled that of a cop's but with armor plating on the shoulders and knees and long sleeves. He was scanning IDs and ushering people into the tunnel that would lead to the shuttle.

Once Brick reached the usher, he handed over his card and ID. The usher scanned the ID and then looked up at Brick, "Why are you going to Aegina, Mr. Lent?"

Brick could tell the usher was sizing him up, most likely due to Brick's menacing features, "My sister's funeral is being held there."

A man next to the usher reached towards Brick, "Your bag, please?"

Brick handed over his duffle bag for the man to search with his scanning gun. When it didn't beep, he handed the bag back to Brick.

The usher turned to Axton, took his ID, and sneered, "And you," The usher looked down at the computer on his podium, "Dr. Vanhall?"

Axton was taken aback slightly by the tone of voice. He looked over to Brick before blurting out, "I'm attending the funeral too. We're cousins."

Once more, the man took Axton's bag, scanned it, then returned it.

The usher looked them over before raising the small gate, "Have a safe trip."

As Axton and Brick passed through the gate, the usher pulled out his ECHO and whispered into it. Axton noticed a small tattoo on the usher's right wrist that was revealed when his long sleeve fell down slightly. From what Axton could make out of the tattoo was that it looked like a logo with two 'S's in the center of a hexagon.

Axton turned to face Brick's back as they found two seats on the large Aegina shuttle. The travel shuttle had multiple rooms on it like a train with long metal benches like a subway. There were bars hanging above the seats for people to grab onto and optional seat belts. Underneath the seats were cages with doors that could be latched shut to keep bags from moving around the shuttle.

Brick found two seats and opened one of the doors underneath them. He threw his and Axton's bags into the cage and latched it shut. He slumped down on the seat next to the left of Axton and watched the people board.

A voice came from the intercom and echoed in the shuttle's multiple rooms, "Attention passengers. Due to slight complications, there will be delays as we get closer to Menoetius. There is nothing to worry about though!"

When the intercom switched off, the shuttle took off from the station and began its course to Menoetius.

Three teenager girls entered the room and as soon as they spotted Brick, they bolted to sit near him. The one sitting close to him had huge blue eyes and ogled Brick's muscles.

"Oh my! You're so beefy!" She exclaimed.

One with blond hair and brown eyes tried to reach across her friend to touch Brick's arm, "What are these scars from? They're so sexy!"

Brick glanced over at the girls, "Uh..."

Axton stifled a laugh by covering his mouth with his hand, "This is the best thing ever!"

Brick turned and punched Axton in the shoulder which caused him to be moved to the side slightly. The girls immediately squealed at Brick's brute force.

"You didn't have to punch me!" Axton exclaimed while rubbing his shoulder, "God damn."

"I bet you could throw a car!" The blond swooned.

"No! Two cars!" The brunette with the blue eyes argued.

Brick leaned forward and placed his head in his hands.

"Oh now he's brooding!" The raven haired girl commented.

The brunette held her hands together and placed them against her chest, "I bet he's really a tender and sweet little boy on the inside!"

"I call him!" The blond called out.

The raven hair girl pouted, "No me!"

Axton laughed and leaned over Brick, "My bud here likes girls who play hard to get and ignore him."

The three girls looked at each other before hopping up from their seats. They all walked into the next room, bickering between each other over who Brick will pick first.

Axton continued laughing until he coughed, "You should have seen the look on your face!"

Brick glared at Axton.

"Hey! I got rid of them, didn't I?"

"Oh look at you!" An woman who looked to be in her sixties sat down next to Axton. Her hair was mostly gray with some black strands in it. Her face was slightly wrinkled around her eyes and mouth. She had a bit of a belly and wore a blue floral dress with thick brown shoes. "Aren't you adorable!" She reached forward and pinched Axton's cheek.

"Ow, hey!"

Brick smirked, "Sweet justice."

Axton pulled away from the woman, "Can you not do that?"

"Oh, I'm sorry! You just remind me so much of my son!" The woman exclaimed.

Axton rubbed the back of his neck, "Y-yeah, it's okay."

"What's your name?" The woman asked.

"Oh, uhm. I'm Jared." Axton lied.

"I'm Anne... It's so good to meet you, Jared!" Anne looked over at Brick, "And you, sir?"

"Zander." Brick answered.

Anne smiled, "It's so good to see more young people going to Aegina! That city could use a new generation or two."

Brick shook his head, "I'm not that young."

"Oh well, dear. Anyone younger than me is young." Anne responded.

"And we're only docking in Aegina." Axton added.

"I guess my intuition isn't as strong as it used to be!" Anne laughed lightly, "Where are you two lads off to then?"

"Iapetus." Brick answered.

Anne's eyes lit up, "Really? That's where I live!"

"Really?" Axton pulled out a BriLight brochure and opened it flat. The brochure changed its usual images to a blank section that allowed tourists to type up notes in the brochures. A flat keyboard appeared on the bottom of the brochure. Axton looked back up to Anne, "Do you think you could give us advice on how to get there from Aegina?"

Anne nodded, "Of course!" Anne waited until Axton was ready to type with one hand, "From Aegina you need to take the train that will go on Route 11. Then you need to get off at Myrto's station then board any ship that is willing to sail to the docking city of Patroclus. From there, Iapetus is a five hour car ride."

Axton typed everything down, "Thank you, Anne!" He closed the brochure again and put it in the pocket of his leather jacket.

"Do you mind my asking why you're going to Iapetus?" Anne asked gently.

"We're uhm..." Axton looked over to Brick who took the cue and sulked out of the room. Anne looked on in concern. "We're going there for his sister's funeral."

"Oh dear," Anne placed a hand to her mouth, "Is he okay?"

Axton nodded, "He just doesn't like it when we talk about his sister."

Anne closed her eyes and looked down, "I understand... I lost a daughter."

"I-I'm so sorry."

Anne shook her head, "It's fine, really. I'm raising her daughter and it's very hard having a reminder of her, but it's also a blessing." She reached forward and placed her hand on top of Axton's, "You're a good person. Sticking with your friend after his loss."

Axton smiled and when to talk again when he heard his ECHO beep. He pulled it out and looked up at Anne, "Will you excuse me?"

Anne nodded and moved away from Axton as he turned and listened to the ECHO. He could hear Brick and Lilith speaking. Axton held down the speak button,

"Did you guys find Leesa, yet?"

"We've found a strong lead, but we haven't found her yet." Roland answered over the ECHO

"That's great! Let us know when you find her!" Axton exclaimed.

Lilith's voice responded, "Karima says there's been some political issues in the city of Aegina. It sounds bad so be careful."

"Political issues? Is that what's been causing the delays?" Axton looked up and noticed a uniformed man walking into the room. He moved to the side of the shuttle and opened a small panel that held a bunch of wires. He grabbed onto a few of them and ripped them out of the wall. "Hey! Get away from there!" Axton dropped his ECHO on the ground and got up. Brick entered the room when he heard Axton yelling.

"Brick, stop him!" Axton called out while running towards the man ripping wires out of the panel. The shuttle began to shake uncontrollably and the lights flickered. The passengers started screaming and crying out while Anne held onto the bars above her head.

"Axton?!" Roland called out from the ECHO on the ground. Another uniformed man ran in from the back and grabbed onto Axton's arms.

"Get off!" Axton struggled against the man's grip, "BRICK!"

Brick threw the man with the wires onto the ground and ran to Axton. He forced himself between Axton and the man and punched him in the face. The man stumbled back onto the ground and landed on Axton's ECHO, shattering it.

The three teenagers ran in from the other room. The brunette cried out, "There are men with guns!"

An alarm blared throughout the shuttle, alerting the passengers that the escape pods were being deployed. The intercom screeched over the alarm, "All passengers must evacuate to the escape pods in the back of the shuttle. We have lost control of-" A gun shot echoed from the intercom. Everyone held onto their ears from the loud noise.

Axton grabbed onto Anne's arms and got her off her seat, "Everyone to the back of the shuttle! Now!"

Brick knelt down and quickly got his shotgun and Axton's rifle from their bags. He sat up, ripped the film from the guns, and threw the rifle to Axton.

Axton caught the rifle with one hand while one arm was around Anne. "I'll get everyone to the escape pods!", Axton shouted over the sound of the passengers that ran past him.

Brick nodded, "I'll go raise some hell!" He turned and forced his way past the passengers.

The blond teenager grabbed onto Brick's arm before he could leave the room, "Are you coming with us?"

Brick sighed, "Just go." He took his arm back and left the room to fight the men taking over the shuttle.

Axton waited for the rest of the passengers to run past him before taking Anne with him. He guided her through the rooms until they reached the crowded back of the shuttle. Passengers were cramming themselves into the shuttles which wouldn't leave until the max occupancy number was filled. This was a safety feature during emergencies to make sure passengers weren't leaving without others out of fear or paranoia.

Axton kept watching behind them to make sure no one was after them. Anne looked up at Axton, "Is your friend going to be okay?"

"Yeah. He's a fighter." Axton answered while walking with Anne as the crowd diminished. He looked out the window to see the escape pods vanishing into space.

"Do you know where the escape pods go to?" Axton asked.

"Clymene. There's a facility located there that is stocked up with supplies." Anne answered.

"I'm surprised you're so calm about this." Axton commented.

"I can say the same thing about you."

"Touche."

The only people left on the shuttle to evacuate were Anne, the teenagers, Brick, Axton, and the man who was on the intercom who was killed. The teenagers climbed into their seats in the only escape pod left and waited.

Axton turned when he heard five armed men run into the room before the escape pods. He moved Anne into the escape pod with the teenagers in it and crouched down. Axton took aim and shot two men before they could shoot. The third took cover by the seats and attempted to shoot Axton's arm. Axton moved to the side slightly and threw out his turret. The turret took out the third man and kept shooting through the seats to try and get the last two.

Axton took another glance out the window and saw fire coming from the sides of the shuttle. In the distance, Menoetius was getting closer and closer.

"Dammit!" Axton cursed under his breath and turned to the escape pod. He looked around quickly and found the hidden panel for the override button. He pulled it open and slammed his fist onto the button. A hissing sound escaped from the door as it slowly closed.

"What are you doing?!" Anne called out while buckled to her seat.

"Get to your granddaughter! Stay safe!" Axton called out as the door completely closed and the escape pod flew back through the tunnel to leave the shuttle. He could hear Anne call out "Jared!" before the escape pod was gone. Axton turned around and retrieved his turret when the men were all dead. The shuttle shook violently and caused Axton to slide across the floor and into the door. The shuttle began to tip to the side slightly as Axton forced his way through the door.

Axton climbed over seats, held onto the bars, and dodged flying luggage as the shuttle broke apart when it entered Menoetius' atmosphere. He continued climbing his way up the shuttle until he reached the front room where the controls were. Brick buckled into the pilot's seat, attempting to use the controls on the panel before him. Axton crawled to the co pilot's seat and was able to buckle himself in as the room was completely turned on its side.

"Did everyone get out in time?!" Brick called out over the alarm and racket the shuttle was making as it broke apart.

"Yeah!" Axton shouted, "Do you know what you're doing?!"

"NO!"

All Brick and Axton could see before them was white clouds, dirty smoke from the shuttle, and the blue sky. Suddenly, the clouds and smoke dispersed as the shuttle ripped through tall trees and forced its way into the ground. The shuttle broke in half and caught the trees on fire while the ground was torn apart from the impact. Axton's head hit the side of the shuttle and was knocked out instantly while the shuttle flipped upside down. Brick's face smacked into the panel multiple times from being jerked around.

The shuttle finally slowed down and slammed into the ground to rest in a ball of fire and smoke.

* * *

**I am having so much fun with making up stuff in the Borderlands universe. The card readers are my favorite thing. I also had a lot of fun with the Seven chapters because I could make up a bunch of crap that sounded cool. xD**

**There is something I want to say about this story: This sequel answers every question (save the ones that will be answered in the crossover) so there won't be too many "Sevens" or "Shales" going on. There will be some questions that will arise in this story but they will be answered in this story as well.**

**The questions that will be answered:**

**- What are the Eridians doing in the other dimension?**

**- Is Leesa herself or Icebringer in the other dimension?**

**- What is the other dimension called?**

**- What is in Lyptus? What is Lyptus exactly?**

**- Why was Zero able to see hands?**

**- What does each message Leesa send to Roland about?**

**- What did Seven/Kirsten/Sarah want Axton to see?**

**- What is the political crisis on Menoetius about?**

**- What/Who is Icebringer exactly and where is it/she from?**

**- Why exactly is Leesa 'poison' to the others?**

**- What is everyone's 'destiny'?**

**- Why was Trey and Nora able to have emotions?**

**- Why did Icebringer seem to want to go to the other dimension?**

**- What was Brick's past like?**

**- If Trey didn't send the message with Nora in it to Leesa, who did?**

**- What did Nora experience in Lyptus? Who are the sisters she mentioned?**

**- Why is Icebringer more connected to Leesa than any of the past Icebringer Sirens?**

**- Why did Leesa bring Roland back? Who is this new villain?**

**There will be more questions revealed as we go along with this story.**

**That being said, Icebringer 2 won't have a similar feel to Icebringer 1. I'm hoping this sequel will turn out as well as the first. But, I have my doubts all the time about it. I personally love the story I have set out for this sequel, but ah well.**

**Now here is the specific list of questions answered in the crossover:**

**- What did Dr. Lovett do to Leesa?**

**- Is Dr. Lovett alive or dead during the 7 months the story takes place?**

**- What do the stalkers want from Leesa?**

**- What did Leesa experience while fighting Icebringer in her mind?**

**- What other experiments did Dr. Lovett do?**

**- How did Leesa 'meet' John?**

**- Why did Leesa build structures for Hyperion?**

**- How did John join Hyperion?**

**- How did Wynonna know about Angel, John's future, and why did she brand him EXACTLY?**

**- What other memories did John keep from Leesa?**

**- Why does Angel not look like Leesa?**

**- What happened to Leesa's mother?**

**- How do Leesa and Joey tie in together? What is their journey about? How do they interact with each other?**

**- Where did Leesa get a Hawnks for Mordecai? Why can't she exactly remember how she found it?**

**- Where was Leesa meditating?**

**And of course, there's a ton of Joey stuff too, but I don't know specifics YET. Once The End of a Journey and the Start of a New One is done, we can start working on it! I'm so excited for the cross over! I'm also thinking about drawing it out as a comic. Not sure yet.**

**Sorry for throwing so much information at you guys! xD**


	8. Menoetius: A Mechanic and his Son

**I hope me switching around between characters won't be confusing. I'm not going to do it super often, but Brick and Axton's story is quite different in feel and plot than the one Roland and the gang are going through. **

**I must admit though, I am having fun writing Axton and Brick as friends. I think they'd be really fun to hang around.**

* * *

Brick slowly opened his eyes and groaned while placing his hands on his ears that were ringing. He tried to sit up but fell back down when his muscles constricted from the pain. Brick turned his head to the right and saw the wreckage of the shuttle surrounding him. A giant hole was in the window of the control room of the shuttle and when Brick looked down, he saw the seatbelt still hooked around his waist.

"Crappy ass safety measures." Brick cursed. He noticed Axton was missing from his seat as well.

"Axton!" Brick shouted while looking around from side to side. When Axton didn't respond, Brick sat up again and placed his hands behind him on the ground to keep steady. "AXTON!"

Brick looked over to where one of the doors was laying in the ground. From underneath it, Axton stretched out an arm with his hand reaching out. Brick forced his body up off the ground and stumbled over to Axton. Brick leaned down and pulled the door off Axton and grabbed onto his arm to help him up.

"Ow ow!" Axton groaned. Brick immediately released Axton's arm.

"Big guy, I got this..." Axton grunted out while slowly pushing himself out of the ditch he was stuck in. He fell back down and sighed loudly, "I'm just going to lay here..."

Brick shook his head, "Well, hurry and get up. We need to get the hell out of here before anyone shows up."

"I'm starting to regret having to lie all the damn time." Axton responded while lifting his head up to look at Brick, "I mean, we have to lie about a funeral?"

"We've done worse." Brick commented as he walked over to where a room from the shuttle was. He slowly sat down and leaned his back against the outer wall of the room.

"So much so that after a fucking shuttle crash, we have to move! What if we were internally bleeding?" Axton argued.

"There ain't no rest for the wicked. You know that."

"Yeah but-"

"Can you move your toes?" Brick asked.

"Yeah..."

"Then you're fine. When you can get up, we're leaving." Brick looked around.

"We'll also need to find our bags..." Axton added.

"Our guns should be around here, too."

"BRICK!" Maya cried out from the ECHO beside Brick, "I can hear you!"

"That was one crazy ride!" Brick exclaimed while grabbing onto the ECHO.

Axton rolled his eyes, "Yeah... Totally."

"Oh we were so worried! Are you guys okay? Where's Axton?" Maya rambled excitedly.

"We're fine, Maya, really." Brick flipped over his damaged ECHO, "Did you honestly think that a crash could kill me?"

"Where did you guys land?" Roland asked.

Brick stood up and looked around. Over the horizon of hills and trees he noticed tall towers made of glass with small planes flying around in the sky."We're around Myrto." Brick explained, "It's four cities away from my hometown."

Axton stumbled from the wreckage and plopped back onto the ground next to Brick. Axton reached up and took the ECHO from Brick, "Our ECHOs are badly damaged. We'll be dark for a while until we find a mechanic in Myrto to fix these."

"Good luck." Roland responded as Axton switched off Brick's ECHO.

"What happened to yours?" Brick asked while moving his neck around to crack it.

While laying on his back, Axton dug into his pocket and pulled out a pile of metal and wires. He handed the pile to Brick, "That's what happened."

Brick chuckled, "All right then."

"Don't laugh! You're the one who threw the guy on top of it!"

"You're delusional."

Axton sighed deeply and finally forced himself to stand up, "I need to find my rifle." He stumbled over to the control room and leaned into the giant hole in the glass. Axton forced his body into the room and fell to the floor.

Brick crossed his arms when Axton groaned out, "You got it, slab?"

"For the last time, Brick, I wasn't even on the mission when Zero and Maya were recruited to be slabs! I was shooting some dude in the face." Axton explained while rummaging through the pile of debris in the control room.

"Ah, I'm going to miss McShooty. He used to piss my slabs off to no end."

Axton pulled out his rifle and shook it clean of the small glass shards cluttering it. He placed his rifle aside and continued moving giant pieces of the control panel away to find Brick's shotgun, "Hey, do you still have your ID and cards?"

Brick patted his chest and pants until he found the pocket with his cards. He pulled each one out, "I'm not missing anythi- Wait what the hell is this?" Brick pulled a card from the back that had a picture of the brunette from the shuttle. She was smiling and held both of her hands out like guns to the side. On it said, "_Call me sometime, studly._" Brick flipped it over to see an ECHO number sprawled across it.

"What was it?" Axton called out while crawling out of the window with the two guns under his arm.

"One of those annoying teenagers left a card with her number in my pants pocket."

Axton pressed his lips together to stifle a laugh. When he calmed down, he walked up to Brick and handed him his shotgun, "... Which pocket?"

Brick glared at Axton.

"Was it the butt pocket?"

Brick shoved the cards into the pocket of his pants and walked off which caused Axton to erupt in laughter.

"You should call her!" Axton called out while following Brick.

Brick shook his head, "I don't have time to deal with kids." He stopped walking when he found the part of the shuttle Axton and he had placed their bags in. Axton watched on as Brick punched a giant dent into the side of the room. The force of the punch caused a hole to split open. Brick slid his fingers through and ripped the hole open more. He then leaned forward and used both hands to tear a huge gap in the thick metal.

Axton backed up a bit when Brick ripped through the metal, "I always knew you were tough, but fuck."

Brick ignored Axton's comment and stepped into the room. He walked over to the seats and pulled the cages out from under the seat. Brick turned around and walked back out with the long cage in his hand. He ripped off the door and pulled out his and Axton's bags, "All right, let's go."

As Brick walked off towards a forest near the crash, Axton picked up his bag. When he slung it over his shoulder, he noticed a third bag inside of the cage. He leaned closer and saw Anne's name on the ID tag. Axton looked back at Brick before reaching into the cage and grabbing Anne's bag. He put the strap around his neck and ran off after Brick.

"Soooo... What's Myrto like?" Axton asked when he caught up to Brick.

"Myrto's the third biggest city on Menoetius. It's the city of knowledge. It's compiled mostly of research facilities, academies, and libraries." Brick explained while moving his way through the thick brush in the forest.

"Ah... Why are we going through this forest?"

"If we go down from the hills, someone will figure out we were in the crash."

"I'm guessing we'll have to explain away our cuts and bruises?"

Brick nodded, "We were exploring and we both tripped down a hill or something."

**3 Hours Later**

Brick and Axton finally reached the outskirts of Myrto. The city resembled Aegina but didn't have domed buildings. The giant buildings were made of glass and surrounded a giant park in the center of the city. Planes flew overhead and a few of them headed off towards the shuttle crash. The seven different academies took up the majority of the space in Myrto and each one faced the giant park. The libraries stood tall like skyscrapers in between the academies. The facilities rested near the giant ocean to the east of Myrto and apartments and shops lined the outskirts of Myrto.

The side Brick and Axton came up on was the shops. Before the two of them entered the city, they hid their guns in their bags.

The people walking down the street were diverse and ranged from different heights, sizes, and race. Although Brick was menacing, he blended in well with the accepting people of Myrto.

"Why aren't people freaking out about you?" Axton whispered to Brick.

"People here don't care what anyone looks like so long as they're here to learn." Brick explained as he and Axton walked down the sidewalk in search of a mechanic. After another hour of walking around, Brick and Axton found the mechanic for the planes and walked in through the door.

The man behind the counter looked up when the bell above his door rang. He wore a ball cap backwards with scruffy black hair poking out from underneath it. Dirt covered the front of his white shirt and in his mouth was a toothpick he was chewing on. His eyes were gray and tired and he was beginning to develop crow's feet. His skin was very tan and his arm had a few scars and burns on them. The name tag on his shirt read "Richie." Richie smiled and placed both of his hands on the counter, "Howdy fellas! What can I do for ya?"

Axton walked before Brick to the counter, "Can you repair ECHOs?"

Richie nodded, "Yessir I can! Let me see 'em."

Brick took out his slightly damaged ECHO and placed it onto the counter. Richie picked it up and looked it over, "My lawd. I haven't seen this model of ECHO in years!"

Axton rummaged through his pocket and pulled out his shattered ECHO. He piled the pieces onto the counter.

Richie looked up from Brick's ECHO to look at the pile. He moved the toothpick in his mouth to the right side and glanced up at Axton, "Yer serious, lad?"

Axton chuckled nervously, "I fell on it while we were hiking..."

Richie leaned over the counter and picked up a giant piece of Axton's ECHO, "Well, yer in luck! I got a buddy who's been collecting old ECHO parts! He owes me a favor, so I could fix 'er up!"

"That's great!" Axton exclaimed, "How much will this cost?"

Richie looked over Brick and Axton before spitting out his toothpick on the ground. He leaned his body over the counter and whispered, "I ain't no fool, lads." He looked over at Brick, "I can tell you were born here, sonnie, but you..." Richie glanced at Axton, "Yer not from around here."

Axton held up his hands, "Whoa, wait-"

"Those are the hands of a killer." Richie added, "Just the hands I need."

"What?" Axton asked as he turned around to see if anyone else was in the room.

Richie sighed and leaned back, "Look. Ya don't know how severe these issues are in Aegina, do ya?"

Brick shook his head, "We had heard, but we haven't seen anything."

"That shuttle that crashed a few hours ago isn't the first one." Richie crossed his arms, "People are being imprisoned over in Aegina... People are dyin'."

"What do you want us to do?" Axton asked.

"My boy, Larry, is in Aegina... I need ya to get 'em over here." Richie answered, "Ever since S&S showed up, people haven't ever left Aegina."

"Whoa, did you say S&S?" Brick asked, "As in S&S Munitions?"

Richie nodded, "There's word floatin' around that the company was bought out by sum Bandit company er something like that. But, they're back."

"Do you have a picture of your son?" Axton asked.

Richie pulled out a photo from his shirt pocket and handed it to Axton, "That's the only one I got."

On the photo was a clear front view of Larry. His hair was scruffy and short like Richie's but was blond. Larry's eyes were green and he wore a brown shirt with baggy camo pants. His tan was a lot lighter than Richie's and Larry looked to be in his twenties.

Axton placed the picture into his jacket pocket and zipped it closed, "Do you really think we're going to need to kill people?"

"The so called 'officers' there won't let anyone in or out of Aegina." Richie explained, "Yer gonna have to go in guns blazin'."

Axton looked over to Brick, "What do you think?"

"I think it's time to go start a war."

* * *

**I have to say again, I'm having so much fun writing Brick and Axton together!**

**Next chapter is back with Roland and the gang. Once I get to a certain point with them, it'll be back to Axton and Brick in Aegina!**


	9. Karima's Knowledge

**Back to Lyptus! Yay! I've been wanting to do these next few chapters for forever!**

**Since I received no complaints about the "thinking" chapters, this one is Karima's!**

**I hope to get some surprised reactions to this one!**

* * *

Roland, Lilith, and Mordecai walked in the front of the group through Lyptus. Maya, Zero, Salvador, and Karima followed suit behind. Each person scanned their flashlights over the walls and floor of the rugged cave. Water dripped from the ceiling and a musky smell hovered in the air.

_**This cave is so huge! **_

Karima spun around while walking and looked up at the ceiling to see if anything was there. The walls were rocky and barren.

"I wonder if we'll find anything actually in here..." Lilith commented while keeping her light on the ground in front of her.

"There has to be something here. Why else would a cave be rested inside of a storm?" Mordecai responded, "There has to be something..."

Roland stopped walking, "I hate no knowing what we'll find."

The group stopped when Roland did. Maya placed a hand on Zero's shoulder and used him to keep steady so she could lift her leg up. She gently rubbed on her sore ankles, "We have to keep being positive."

While the group bickered about their situation, Karima stared straight ahead into the darkness. A bright light radiated from the end of the pathway in the shape of a ball.

**_What...?_ **

Karima looked over to the group who hadn't noticed the light.

_**Do they not see this? **_

Karima turned back to the light and noticed it dancing in the darkness.

_**It wants me to come to it...**_

She placed a hand on her heart before dropping her flashlight and running towards the light.

When the flashlight hit the ground, the sound echoed throughout the cave. Salvador looked away from Zero to see Karima disappearing into the darkness.

"Karima!" Salvador shouted out as he ran after Karima, keeping his flashlight on her back.

Zero ran after next while bent over to pick up Karima's flashlight. In his sprint, Zero passed Salvador and was right on Karima's tail.

_**Don't stop running... I have to keep going. I can't let it vanish!**_

Karima continued to run to the light and soon felt the ground give way beneath her feet. She screamed and fell forward towards the ground below the cliff. Zero caught up with Karima and slid off the broken ground with her. He threw the flashlights from him and reached forward and wrapped his arm around Karima's waist.

Zero placed his hand above himself to grab onto anything to stop the two from falling. After falling for a while, his hand grabbed onto a giant piece of rock that stuck out from the ledge. Karima was jerked back against Zero as they both dangled in the air.

Dirt and rocks from the ground above fell around them and landed on their shoulders and in Karima's hair. Zero held onto the rock and Karima tightly to make sure the rocks didn't knock them down.

Karima looked around frantically to find the light.

_**Where's the light?! Where did it...**_

Karima's eyes landed on the ground where the two flashlights hit the ground. A ways below her and Zero was a giant pile of pure white Eridian skeletons. They were piled together with a few solitary skeletons on the top against the rock.

After seeing the skeletons, Karima came back to her senses.

_**They piled onto each other to climb back up... How horrific. The starvation or the cold must have overcame their psyche. To think this advanced alien race would result to such an animalistic trait.**_

"Zero!" Maya cried out as she leaned over the cliff to look down. She sighed in relief when she saw Zero and Karima against the cliff.

Mordecai looked over the cliff and cheered, "Way to go Zero!"

Roland looked over to Lilith, "Will you be able to teleport us all down there?"

While still staring at the hundreds of Eridian skeletons, Lilith nodded, "I brought a small supply of Eridium for the trip. It should be enough to teleport us all down there plus a few extra times." Lilith looked up at Roland, "I just need Karima and Zero back up here. The wider the radius, the more energy it'll take."

Salvador sat on his knees on the cliff edge and called down, "Can you get back up here?!"

"I got it!" Zero called up. He looked down at Karima, "I need you to move to my back and hang on tightly."

_**You have got to be kidding me. We're hovering above a bunch of sharp bones that could impale us if we fall and you want me to climb around you like a freakin' tree?**_

Karima held back her urge to argue and nodded, "Alright..." Slowly, Karima moved her body around Zero's arm while holding tightly onto his neck and shoulders. She slid onto Zero's back and wrapped her arms more about him.

When Karima was situated, Zero moved closer to the wall and began to ascend back up the cliff.

_**Ugh, Karima. Don't be a jerk. Say thank you!**_

"Hey, uh. Thanks for saving me. You didn't have to and I appreciate that." Karima whispered to Zero.

Zero reached up and grabbed onto a loose rock. He pulled it out of the cliff side and threw it down. "Don't thank me yet." Zero felt around for a sturdier rock and grabbed onto that one. He pushed his body upwards while carrying Karima's weight.

Maya knelt down and held her flashlight over the cliffside to shine light down on the rocks Zero was climbing up. Mordecai followed suit to light up a more broad area of rocks.

After a long journey upwards, Zero managed to reach the top of the cliff side. Salvador and Lilith moved to pull Karima off Zero's back and over the ledge. Roland and Mordecai grabbed Zero's arms to bring him up from the cliff side. Maya immediately grabbed onto Zero and hugged him tightly. Zero hugged her back before helping Maya stand up with him. He stretched his arms behind his back and over his head to pop his joints.

Maya looked over to Karima, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why did you run off like that?" Salvador asked while brushing off the rocks and dirt that accumulated on Karima's shoulders.

Karima started, "I..."

_**Don't you dare lie.**_

"I thought I saw something... A light. I felt compelled to chase it." Karima admitted, "I feel silly for going after it, but I couldn't stop myself."

"Don't feel like that." Roland walked up to Karima and knelt down before her, "What did it feel like?"

"I felt like... I wasn't in control. It was as if I was watching myself and this light was guiding me... As if I couldn't guide myself." Karima explained, "I've never felt anything quite like that."

_**That light hypnotized me. Why?**_

Roland offered Karima his hand, "Welcome to the club."

Karima smiled and took Roland's offer. Roland helped Karima off the ground and walked back to Lilith.

"Are you ready?" Roland asked while taking Lilith's bag off of her shoulders.

"Suppose so." Lilith answered, "I'll need the Eridium after we get to the bottom."

Roland nodded and held onto Lilith's bag while moving closer to her.

The group moved closer to Lilith as her tattoos lit up and they all entered through the other dimension. Roland attempted to keep his eyes open but the light made his eyes water. Roland squeezed his eyes shut and reopened them once the light had faded.

The group stood together a ways before the giant pile of skeletons. Zero picked up the two flashlights he threw and checked them. He handed one back to Karima.

"Why are there so many here?" Salvador asked Karima as she stared at each skeleton from under the light of her flashlight.

"I don't know what their punishments were but they all piled together to try to escape. They attempted to make a tower of themselves to climb free."

Maya shivered from the sudden cold air, "What's in here that would make them want to leave so bad?"

_**I didn't even think of that possibility! It may not have been the darkness, the cold, the smell, or the lack of food! Why did I decide to come again?**_

Roland opened Lilith's bag and pulled out a chunk of Eridium. Lilith took the Eridium and absorbed it which caused her wings of fire to burst out of her back. As the purple light from the Eridium surrounded Lilith, the ceiling that was once dark, lit up. Little holes in the ceiling shined brightly with a white light that resembled the night sky and stars.

Karima looked up at the ceiling, "I... I need my notebook, please."

Salvador placed Karima's bag on the ground and pulled out Karima's notebook. Karima accepted the notebook from Salvador and began jotting down notes of everything that happened inside of Lyptus so far.

"The Eridium caused this reaction?" Zero asked while switching off his flashlight.

_**That seems logical... But why would that kind of reaction happen?**_

Karima turned and grabbed onto the strap of her bag. Salvador pulled on the strap to take the bag from out of Karima's hands.

"It's okay, Salvador. I can carry it."

Salvador shook his head and put Karima's bag on his back, "You need to be able to write, senorita."

Karima smiled, "Thanks."

_**He's kind of cute...**_

_**Whoa wait no no. Stop that.**_

Roland placed a hand on Lilith's shoulder, "You alright?"

Lilith nodded.

Roland walked past her and towards the front of the group, "We should get going."

Everyone followed suit under the light of the ceiling. A few hours passed by when the rocky walls of the cave turned into smooth stone. There were lines on the walls that radiated a trail of light that resembled the many Eridian structures on the surface of Pandora.

_**These are the same as the samples I've found! Interesting... Why are there words down here?**_

"Wait, wait!" Karima stopped walking and placed her fingers against the engraved lines that swirled across the smooth stone.

Lilith moved behind Karima, "What is it?"

"There's words written here." Karima answered.

"What are you talking about? This doesn't look like anything but lines!" Mordecai watched Karima as she traced the lines with her fingers.

Karima closed her eyes as she continued to trace the lines, "I'm going to let you guys in on a secret."

The group gathered around Karima.

"There are two different types of written language that the Eridians used. There's the kind you said you saw in the sky above Sanctuary. Those are the symbols used strictly between Eridians. This... Is their written language that anyone can read." Karima explained, "If you trace the lines in the same movement and time as the light does, you will hear what the Eridians are saying... In your mind."

"In our... Minds?" Maya slowly repeated.

Karima nodded, "Your own voice in your preferred language will repeat what the Eridians have written here. It's a marvelous power, but it can become overwhelming. Researchers who figured this out have gone completely insane because they couldn't turn off the voice in their head. Their voices would just keep repeating the words written down."

"So, you're saying anyone can read this?" Roland asked to clarify.

"Yes. But sometimes it's at a price." Karima responded, "It's wise if I read what's here and be a sort of translator for you all."

Roland backed up a bit to give Karima some space, "That sounds good. Go for it."

Karima opened her eyes and watched the movement of the light that passed through the lines. She placed her fingers at the 'start' of the line where the words would begin. As the light moved across the lines, Karima followed with two fingertips on top of the light.

_**'Only those brave enough may live. This place will take from you. Rob you. It is your duty to gain it back. If you do, you'll be rewarded... If not, you will be doomed.**_

_**'One sister will heal you. The other, torture you. One is redemption, one is damnation. Don't be fooled by the voice of the eldest. She will be your downfall.**_

_**'Take back what was robbed, follow the light, and avoid what you fear most.'**_

Karima pulled back from the wall when a feeling of dread washed over her.

"What did it say?" Mordecai asked while watching Karima's face as she stared at the wall.

"Basically this place is dangerous and something about... Sisters..." Karima explained while her shoulders shook gently, "This place held an evil so strong..."

Zero pulled Maya close to him, "_Held?_"

"I don't feel it anymore. I felt complete dread and anguish while reading this and now it's gone. If the evil was still here, I think I would have kept feeling it." Karima further explained. "If we go deeper, I'm sure this will all be answered."

"Maybe you should lead, Karima." Roland suggested.

"Okay." Karima walked with Roland and Lilith in front of the group throughout the tunnel.

When the group reached a fork in the tunnel, Karima read the words on the wall.

_**'Stay centered. Never deviate. Deviation leads to her.'**_

"We keep going straight."

Many hours of walking passed and everyone began to grow tired. They slowed their pace and took multiple breaks to eat and rest before continuing their trek. Finally, the stone walls opened up into a giant chamber that was identical to the chamber in the Dahl Headlands.

There were two giant Eridian statues in the center of the room facing each other. Blue and purple fires crackled above the stone Eridians' backs. The walls were completely covered in the swirled written language and lining each side of the room was clear blue water in small rectangular pools.

In the back of the room, up against the wall was a bright yellow light that shined brightly. It floated above the ground in front of a giant Eridian 10101 Cannon that rested on a purple stone pedestal.

"That's the thing I saw earlier!" Karima exclaimed as the group ran towards the bright light.

_"You've finally come." _The bright ball of light spoke in a light womanly voice.

"What? What are you?" Roland asked while standing slightly in front of Lilith. Zero was standing completely in front of Maya, but she kept peering from around him to watch the ball of light.

_"I am a friend."_

"Where's Leesa?" Mordecai asked while moving to the front of the group.

_"You must be Mordecai..." _The voice spoke in a sorrowful tone.

Mordecai stood completely still, "How do you know my name?"

"Who are you?" Karima asked softly, "Why did you show yourself to me?"

The ball of light stretched out until it was standing taller than the group. The light condensed into an Eridian's form. The brightness of the light slowly faded into the light orange complexion of the Eridian.

_"My name is Nora."_

* * *

**Well, did anyone see this coming?**

**What did you guys think?**

**Talk to me! (=**

**Nora is freaking back!**

**So sorry if this chapter is a bit crappy.**

**I had to keep referring to everyone as a group. Plus, Lyptus in my head is HUGE. I didn't want to spend five chapters going over everything inside of it that isn't important. So I attempted to fit it all into one chapter.**

**Also, if anyone is confused about the writing on the wall. Just think back to the Eridian Promontory, The Crimson Enclave, Tannis' place in Borderlands 1, the chamber in the Dahl Headlands, Cramerax's Lair, etc and you will see these giant structures with lines on them. Light passes over them sometimes. That is what I'm talking about in this chapter.**


	10. The Youngest Sister

**So terribly sorry for me being so unresponsive! I got Pokemon X so I've been distracted xD I probably will remain this distracted until next year haha I mean seriously. Batman Arkham Origins comes out soon and then I'm getting a PS4 and Kingdom Hears 3 and inFAMOUS. I just. Ugh So much stuff is coming out!**

**I hope you guys have been excited for more information on Icebringer's origins!**

* * *

Karima's eyes widened, "You're an Eridian..."

Nora smiled slightly, hiding her fanged teeth, "_Why yes, dear._" She floated before the group with her hands clasped together in front of her. Nora's skin glowed a light yellow and orange while her freckles were faded slightly against her complexion. Both of Nora's blue eyes were back, but bordering her pupils was a bright reddish orange ring. On her shoulders was a thin cloak that was white and cloudy. The thin material floated lightly behind Nora and the clouds inside of the cloak moved around with the fabric.

"This is amazing! An Eridian inside of Lyptus that's alive! Oh I just can't..." Karima rambled on while flipping through the pages of her notebook.

"Why are you here?" Lilith asked, "What is this place?"

Nora looked down and closed her eyes, "_The answer is complicated... But you do deserve some answers for what you all have been through. You all have been chosen for a nearly impossible task... I will do my best to answer everything._

_"Lyptus... This place has been around since the beginning of time. I do not even know how or when time started, but before light, there was darkness. Darkness can survive without the light, thus it was in creation first. Light was born from within the darkness and flourished. Before any form of life was created, the darkness and the light fought constantly. The darkness tried to grow to defeat the light, but as it did, the light grew with it. Within the clashing, a form of rules was set forth... Destiny-"_

"What, whoa whoa. What is this?" Mordecai interrupted, "We didn't come here for a bedtime story."

"_I see you are much like Trey, Mordecai. In the beginning, he didn't believe in destiny_." Nora commented.

Mordecai growled and stepped forward, "What did you just say?"

"_Trey was not what you believed him to be_." Nora answered.

"He tried to kill us!" Maya cried out, "He nearly killed two of our friends and Leesa is gone because of him!"

Nora shook her head, "_It was not Trey. Icebringer started all of this. If you would just_-"

"Look lady, I don't know what you're getting at, but Icebringer never tried to kill us." Mordecai argued.

"_I do not like being interrupted, Mordecai_." Nora responded calmly, "_All I want to do is explain as much as I can to you. If you let me talk, you will understand._"

"You've got to be kidding me." Mordecai looked over at Roland, "We're wasting our time here. Time we don't have."

Roland grabbed onto Mordecai's shoulder, "Let's just hear her out."

Mordecai sighed angrily, "Fine. But if I'm right about this-"

"_You're not_." Nora spoke out with a tone that was angrier than her normal voice, "_You are testing her patience_."

"Who are you referring to?" Karima asked while writing furiously in her notebook.

"_All will be revealed in due time._" Nora answered, "_Now, where was I..._

"_Oh, yes... Destiny was set in motion the moment darkness and light clashed together. I'm unsure of how this next event took place but the darkness split the normal realm into two pieces. There's this dimension that resides in the overall realm and then there's the other dimension that's more wicked. The darkness claimed the other dimension for its own to reside in away from the light._

"_The separation caused our dimension to go through evolution. Humans came into existence around the time the light was close to fading away... __When the darkness vanished, the light began to cease. Without its sister, light was going to vanish completely. In one last effort to survive, the light took on a mortal form and journeyed into the other dimension. Light believed that the two could coexist peacefully, but darkness had grown too strong alone..._

_"Once the light reached the other dimension, it discovered that the darkness had taken on a mortal form as well, mirroring the humans in our dimension. Within the darkness' dimension, however, Eridians were the dominant species. They were void of emotions and served their ruler blindly. __Darkness and light became sisters with their new mortal forms-_"

"The Eridians came from the other dimension?" Salvador asked.

Karima looked up from her notebook to watch Nora, "Why are they back there now, then?"

"_Patience." _Nora cupped her hands together and held them out to the group. A fire burst from within her hands and took the shape of a human woman. "_The light faced the darkness in a fight once more. The darkness was furious that the light was now thriving in the other dimension and took matters into her own hands. The dark sister sent her Eridians to face the humans in combat in our dimension. When the younger sister of light was distracted, the darkness infected the light. In one last effort to keep the darkness from causing further damage, the sister of light trapped herself and the dark sister inside of a sacred place... Lyptus."_

Zero looked around the room, "The embodiments of light and darkness reside here?"

"_Light still remains... The darkness escaped."_

"Oh no..." Karima flipped back to the beginning of her notebook, "You can't mean that..."

"What, Karima?" Roland asked while walking over behind her. He looked over Karima's shoulder to read the page she flipped to.

"You guys told me earlier that Trey said... Icebringer wasn't a part of Lyptus anymore..." Karima explained slowly, hardly believing the words from her mouth.

"_Your train of thought is correct, Karima... The Icebringer is that darkness. She is the eldest sister." _Nora's eyes held a deep sadness.

"That... That can't be... Leesa..." Mordecai trailed off in disbelief.

"_It is all true. I am deeply sorry."_ Nora placed her hands on her chest, _"I wish I could have done more._"

"Are you the sister of light?" Karima asked.

"_In a way... I was the original host to Icebringer._"

"What?!" Maya yelled, "You're the first Siren?!"

Nora nodded.

Lilith shook her head lightly, "After all of this time... We're standing in front of you! We've been searching for answers to the Siren lineage... And here you are!"

_"I find it wonderful you can celebrate our origin. After all, we've come from darkness."_

Nora's words caused Lilith and Maya's excitement to calm down.

"How did you end up being the host?" Karima asked, readying her pencil to write.

Nora teared up lightly, "_Back when the Eridians were still here, the uhm... Wise men, in your language, attempted to travel to the other dimension. Because we all originated from within it, we all had this desire to travel back there. The wise men thought that we would all obtain a higher knowledge and immortality if we went there. _

_"Because of Icebringer, we were all void of emotions... Until I met Trey. Trey was born from the first attempt at creating the bridge to the other dimension. The wise men realized over time that Trey was the bridge and that they could use him as a gatekeeper. When he and I met, we suddenly gained the ability to feel. We fell in love and after many struggles with Trey, we decided to keep our love a secret from the others."_

"It's hard to believe you never experienced emotions, before." Lilith commented, "I couldn't imagine not being able to feel anything."

"_It was easy not feeling anything... It was harder to actually feel. When the wise men found out about us, they wanted me to go to another planet to stay away from Trey. When I refused, I was sent here."_

"That was your punishment?" Karima asked to elaborate.

"_My punishment was for defying orders. They didn't care that Trey had feelings, but they cared that I was in the way..._

_The night I was sent here, I was faced with dying Eridians, horrible sights, and terrifying creatures. We were all tested and even some of us figured out that there was a light and dark entity inside of Lyptus. The last task was to face my greatest fear and when I did... Icebringer took over."_

"Your greatest fear...? That sounds like Phase Terror." Karima deduced.

"_Indeed. All Siren powers belong to Icebringer. Her sister has powers of her own, but they are very different. Icebringer's sister tried to get to me first, but Icebringer won and I became a Siren. After being attached to me for four years, Icebringer was able to use my body to leave Lyptus, when before she couldn't. The sister of light wanted to come for me... To save me, but she could not leave. The infection hindered the majority of the light's powers._

_"I learned all about destiny while inside of Lyptus and I saw that I was to coerce my love, Trey, into fighting a woman with purple hair. He was destined to be killed to stop him from opening the gate. In an attempt to save Trey's life, I tried to leave with the other Eridians. Icebringer made sure I wouldn't reach the Light Cell with the other Eridians and I ended up back on Pandora with Trey. My punishment for straying from destiny was that I would die after telling Trey to face Leesa. _

_"I was forced by Icebringer to tell Trey that your friend, Leesa, would be the apocalypse and he needed to kill her. I couldn't control my words. I couldn't control my actions. If I had not gone against destiny, I wouldn't have died so soon. I would have been able to stay with Trey for a lot longer."_

Maya began to cry, "That's horrible!"

"The gateway still opened though and Trey did die... " Roland started to explained until he saw the look on Nora's face, "Uhm, sorry."

"_Icebringer killed Trey with Phase End, correct?"_

"Yes." Roland answered.

_"Icebringer must have secretly released some of her own powers into Trey. While still in this dimension, Icebringer is not strong enough to completely immerse herself in the other dimension. She could travel in and out of the dimension, but she couldn't stay unless a portal was opened. If she used her Phase powers on Trey to kill him, her power was still resonating inside of him which caused the gate to open after he died. Icebringer can see destiny's path like I can, but she believes she can completely alter it to her will and apparently... She can._

_"I don't think she can completely change destiny, but she must have been able to alter something."_

Zero held Maya close, "Leesa said you split your powers... Why?"

Nora wiped the tears from her eyes, "_Upon my death, Icebringer was to be free to find a new host. Light knew that if Icebringer's full powers went to one human host as planned, Icebringer would be all powerful and no one would stop her. While utilizing the powers within Lyptus, the sister of light split Icebringer's powers as much as she could. Six powers went on to six different human women while the others remained 'in the air', waiting for the right host to claim them. Eventually down the line, Leesa became the closest to Icebringer's full self. That is why she has purple hair when the others have not."_

Mordecai shook lightly in anger, "Why Leesa?"

_"Icebringer was waiting for its original power... Phase Terror. It was only a matter of time before Phase Terror would be brought back into the world once more. Leesa just happened to be the next... Slot, for lack of a better word."_

"Why has Leesa been sending me messages?" Roland finally asked.

Nora looked at Roland in confusion, "_She's been sending you messages?_"

"If you don't know... Then that cannot be good." Salvador remarked.

"_It is not surprising that I do not know. I cannot see what is going on in the other dimension while I am here._"

"I've always wanted to know where the name 'Icebringer' comes from." Lilith added, "It seems to fit her, but why does she use ice?"

"_Ice has always been a child to the darkness. Fire has always been the child to light. The sister of light takes on a form of pure fire while the sister of darkness, Icebringer, takes on a form of ice. Although, Icebringer has multiple forms._

_"Now that I have answered your questions, there is something else we must discuss..._

"_Yes,_ _I am a host to the sister of light and Leesa is the final host to the Icebringer. You all fit in this giant puzzle with us. You are all pieces of an outcome-_"

"I still don't get this destiny crap." Mordecai interrupted once more, "Why would destiny force us to suffer?"

"_You only suffer if you stray from the path."_

"Oh really? What path did Brick stray from? Huh? What did Brick do to deserve killing his own sister?" Mordecai spat out.

"_If Brick had let Shale and Ron be together, Shale would not have died as she did."_

Mordecai grew furious, "Are you kidding me? Brick told us what Ron was like! Why would Brick ever let Shale be-"

"_Shale would have been the 'one' for Ron. He would have changed his ways."_

"Yeah, right. You still have no good argument for this destiny nonsense!" Mordecai yelled back.

Roland walked up to Mordecai, "Mordecai, just listen-"

"No! I'm through listening to people telling me that destiny makes all these plans for us! Ron would have never changed-"

_"Have you not changed since Leesa showed up in your life?"_

Mordecai stared at Nora and remained silent.

"_Maya has changed your life, too, Zero." _Nora turned her attention to the hugging couple, _"Am I right?"_

Zero looked over to Mordecai and then back at Nora before nodding slowly.

"_Shale would have changed Ron. Yes, the two of them would have died around the same time but it would have been in a car accident. Brick would have been an uncle and involved in Shale's life before her death. There were multiple instances where Brick didn't have to shove Ron in the acid, but he ignored all signs and did it anyways._

_"What seems hard for you all to grasp is that destiny is not all constant. There are variables too. Destiny sets everyone on a path towards a goal. Originally, there are choices and if somehow you stray from the original choice, you will be punished but your path will change to keep you towards your ultimate goal. __In every possibility I see. No matter what you change, all of you, right now, would meet somehow. Whether it be before you all come to Pandora, after, or a mix._

_In every instance, Roland lives whether he never died or dies and Leesa brings him back. Sarah was always meant to die as well as Shale. But if things had gone differently, they would have either lived longer or died more peacefully. Bloodwing and Angel were always meant to die as well, and in every single instance, Jack and Leesa never work out..." _Nora smiled at Mordecai, "_But you and Leesa do, Mordecai. __Destiny is real whether you chose to deny or accept it. I know this for a fact because I am the enforcer now."_

After a long moment of silence, Lilith spoke up, "What's the sister of light's name?"

"_She calls herself the Iceslayer. Ever since she was created from within the darkness, she has been destined to fight it. She originally attempted to make peace, but she now sees what she must do. I can feel the heavy weight on her." _

"What was the task you mentioned earlier?" Roland asked, dreading the answer.

The flames on the back of the Eridian statues grew brighter as Nora answered, _"You must kill the Icebringer."_

* * *

**Now I know this is a lot to take in but there's even soooooo much more that's not explained until later.**

**I also feel like this chapter jumps around a lot and doesn't flow. I apologize if you guys sensed that. I tried my best!**

**Although light came from darkness and thus should be its child, they're sisters. Just, roll with it. It'll be further explained later.**

**So, for Nora's cloak... It's complicated. But just imagine a thin bedsheet-like cloak that is attached to Nora's shoulders. It's long and flows behind her and the fabric is slightly see through. The parts that aren't see through are white and resemble clouds which move on their own. Nora is an otherworldly being so I wanted to give her a kick ass cloak.**


	11. Preparing for Icebringer's Dimension

**Whoa, a lot of time has passed! Eek! Uhm, well. Pokemon and Batman Arkham Origins... All I have to say.**

**Oh, but wait! Anyone have Pokemon X or Y and want to trade/register to be friends? I need more friends for the Friend Safari! PM me your name and FC!**

* * *

"We... I don't understand." Roland responded.

"_It is simple. I will send you into the other dimension and you must face Icebringer-"_

"You can't be serious." Mordecai shook his head, "We have to kill the embodiment of darkness? Won't Leesa be harmed?! What about her?!"

"_Mordecai... I am serious. Icebringer cannot be allowed to live any longer than she has. Darkness will be released upon her death and all will be well with the dimensions. Icebringer and Iceslayer should never have had minds of their own. It's too dangerous."_

"What. About. Leesa?" Mordecai spat out slowly.

Nora gazed at Mordecai, her eyes saddening at the words trapped inside of her head. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "_If Leesa is too far gone and Icebringer has control of her... Leesa will not be retrievable."_

Maya gasped lightly, "No..."

"Can we separate the two and then kill Icebringer?" Lilith asked.

"_No. The only way to split Leesa from Icebringer is for her to use Phase Send which will kill her. There are only two options. One is you kill Icebringer and hope Leesa awakens in place. The second is to completely merge Leesa and Icebringer as one... The consequences would be dire, however. Dying would be more fitting."_ Nora explained solemnly.

"What would happen?" Karima asked while scribbling notes all over her papers.

"_Leesa and Icebringer's thoughts would merge completely. There would be nothing that makes Leesa, Leesa. It would always be her and Icebringer. At least her normal self has been separate from Icebringer. Her powers would also cause great pain and she would become immortal. Being immortal is a curse that I have to deal with until I can be released. It would be unfortunate if Leesa had to go through such a thing."_

Roland shook his head, "We can't kill her. If we can save Leesa for sure, we will... But we-"

Nora's entire body suddenly lit up in flames and her voice altered to a more ferocious tone, "_You would rather let your friend suffer than allow a peaceful end?"_

"I-Iceslayer?" Lilith stepped forward slightly as the heat in the room intensified from the fires.

"_Answer."_

"Of course we don't want Leesa to suffer!" Mordecai yelled out, "But we want her back! We haven't been searching for her for nothing!"

"_Obviously your friend trusts you with her fate if she would go out of her way to message you. I've been to the other dimension. She has her hands full and to take the time to speak with you is impressive. I am tired of watching from inside of Nora, waiting for action to be done to end Icebringer and her tyranny. As long as she is in wake, she is a terror that must be dealt with._" Iceslayer glared through Nora's eyes, "_Will you be my soldiers in this everlasting war? Will you end the host?_"

Mordecai stepped forward threateningly, "You've got a lot of nerve-"

Roland grabbed onto Mordecai's arm, "Let's talk this out-"

Mordecai ripped his arm from Roland's grasp, "Who the hell do you think you are?! You can't decide the fate of my girlfriend just because she was dealt a rotten card! I am not killing her!"

Roland sighed, "I'm not agreeing with Iceslayer, Mordecai. I just want to make a compromise."

Mordecai clenched his jaw, but remained quiet so Roland could speak.

Roland turned his attention towards the entity of fire, "If you could be face to face with Icebringer, could you destroy her?"

The flames around Nora's body died down, "_If the playing field was even, yes."_

"Could you do so without harming Leesa?" Roland clarified.

"_I see where you're getting at and all I can assure you is that __I can kill Icebringer without destroying Leesa's mortal form. I cannot guarantee if Leesa awakens afterwards though."_

"If we bring Icebringer here, will that even the playing field?" Zero asked.

Iceslayer nodded, "_You must weaken her though." _Iceslayer stepped to the side to show off the Eridian Cannon behind her, "_Weaken her with this weapon and force her to use Phase Walk... When she does, have the soldier grab onto her while wearing this..." _Iceslayer stretched out her hand with the flames dancing across her fingertips. The fire took form into a flat golden medallion as bright as the sun. A chain burst from two sides of the medallion and melted together from the fire.

Zero shielded Maya from the burn of the medallion while Karima, Salvador, Mordecai, and Lilith covered their eyes with their arms. Roland squinted his eyes and hesitantly stepped forward until he stood before Iceslayer. He reached forward and placed his hand above the flames to grab the medallion. The light dimmed when Roland touched its surface and pulled it from the fire which didn't burn him. Roland placed the medallion around his neck and shoved it under his shirt.

"_That medallion is a part of me and once it gets close to Icebringer, I will be able to see her. When she is in Phase Walk with you, I will have enough access into the other dimension to bring you all back here with Icebringer."_

"You can't be considering doing this, Roland. I won't help unless we know for a fact that Leesa is alright." Mordecai argued.

Roland turned and walked up to Mordecai, "This is the closest chance we have to bringing Leesa back. Don't you want to see her?"

"You know I do, but I can't face her knowing she may not live. I can't do this." Mordecai shook his head slowly.

Lilith placed a hand on Mordecai's shoulder and gripped it tightly, "Leesa will come back to us after Icebringer is gone, I can feel it. If we can bring Leesa out of Icebringer like in the past, she will have a better chance... There's only one person who can help Leesa survive and that's you, Mordecai."

Mordecai moved his attention to Iceslayer, "What will Icebringer do if we can't kill her?"

"_I want to be able to say that she will destroy everything, but that isn't her. She doesn't destroy... She tortures. She will make everyone suffer and if she can keep the pain spreading, she will. Ultimately, Icebringer may end everything with darkness, but she will make everyone suffer long beforehand. Icebringer must be stopped."_

"What will happen to the Eridians on the other side once we bring Icebringer here?" Karima questioned.

"_They must reside there for all eternity. No good will come from them being back here. Eridians and humans will always bring pain to one another._"

"Aren't they in trouble, too?" Maya asked with tears in her eyes, "What if Leesa isn't the only one hurting?"

_"I admire you humans and your compassion. It is uplifting to say the least. The Eridians have been away from here for many years. They are all used to the other dimension by now... __I wish I could tell you more about what you could face, but it has been many millennium since I have stepped inside of Icebringer's dimension."_

Lilith crossed her arms and looked at the ground, "What'll... What will happen to Sirens?"

Maya pulled from Zero to watch Lilith, "Y-Yeah... Will our powers go away?"

"_No. The cycle will continue... Just without Icebringer in the mix."_ Iceslayer moved her focus to Karima, "_I will bestow the power to speak and understand the verbal Eridian language to you if you all go."_

Karima's eyes widened, "You'd do that for me?"

"_I will do it so you can translate, but it will be your own personal reward if you do this task."_

Karima closed her notebook, "I... I don't know what to say..."

Iceslayer breathed out harshly, releasing small flames from within her mouth, "_Although you will not deal a deadly blow, Icebringer will die by all of our hands. I may not be anywhere near human or Eridian, but I do understand why you hesitate... Please... __Reassure my desire to fight Icebringer. Tell me you will go and bring her here."_

Roland looked around the group, taking in their faces besides Zero's. He turned to Mordecai, "This is it. There's no other way to Leesa, Mordecai. I know you agree when Iceslayer says Icebringer is dangerous."

Mordecai pulled Glacier off his shoulder to tuck into his arms. He stroked Glacier's feathers gently, "We're not attacking Icebringer until we know Leesa can be saved, alright?"

Roland nodded and walked back towards Iceslayer.

Iceslayer floated to the side to allow Roland to grip onto the Eridian cannon.

"_Come, Karima._"

Karima hesitantly walked to Iceslayer while hugging her notebook close to her chest. Iceslayer lowered herself down until she was face to face with Karima. The fires on Iceslayer's hands bounced to her wrists, leaving Nora's skin untouched by the flames. Iceslayer gently placed her hands on both sides of Karima's face. Karima felt her skin heat up at Iceslayer's naturally high body temperature.

Iceslayer leaned forward and breathed out against Karima's face. From Iceslayer's mouth, an airy wave of light blue flames brushed across Karima's face and vanished when it went past her skin.

Karima breathed in deeply, feeling a heavy weight against her chest and lungs. Over time, the weight vanished.

"_Loch yve tull'r de?"_

Karima smiled, "Yes! It did work! Tull'r de!"

Iceslayer released Karima's face, "_Good. May this gift prove useful to you." _She pulled away from Karima and turned to face the empty pedestal, "_Now that you are all prepared for the task, are you ready to travel?"_

"Yeah, let's hit it!" Lilith smiled while walking to Roland, "I've missed our good ol' adventures!"

"I have a feeling this one will be a lot tougher." Salvador mumbled while following Mordecai and Lilith.

Zero looked down at Maya, "I won't argue with you about going, but you better not leave my sight."

Maya smiled, "I wasn't planning on it."

"Vamonos!" Salvador called out to Maya and Zero.

Maya gripped onto Zero's upper arm as he led her to Salvador. They all stood together in front of Iceslayer.

"_Remember, Icebringer may be darkness, but so long as she grows, light will too. Don't let her get the best of you and you will be able to get the upper hand. Don't trust anyone or anything there... This territory is uncharted and unforgiving." _Iceslayer warned while she stretched out her arms towards the group and then out to her sides. With the motion, a sphere of red and orange surrounded them all. It resembled Phase Walk but with different colors.

"_Icebringer will not have influence over you Roland. You are the key so stay ever vigilant."_

"The... Key?" Roland repeated while gripping onto the cannon.

"_Farewell and... Good luck."_

A bright light pierced through the sphere and blinded the group. Iceslayer vanished completely, leaving the group to hurtle throughout Icebringer's dimension.

Roland felt his body lift up off the ground. He reached an arm out, trying to feel for Lilith. His eyes shot open when his hand touched nothing. Roland winced and shut his eyes tightly as they watered from the bright light. Soon, it faded and Roland was sent tumbling through the purple sky of Icebringer's dimension.

"Lilith!" Roland called out while spinning around in the darkness cast by the purple surrounding him. Roland's eyes scanned the area around him to no avail. Everyone was missing. Roland was alone.

From somewhere deep in the sky, Roland heard a deep ferocious voice hiss, "_You'll never have her._"

Roland shot upwards from his place on the rocky ground. Lilith sat next to him on her knees, "Are you okay?"

Roland shook his head and rubbed his forehead, "What happened?"

"Nothing...? There was a bright light and we all were here. Did you see something?" Lilith responded while showing Roland that everyone was nearby.

Roland slowly stood up, "N-No. I just felt like I was floati-" Roland stopped talking when he saw the horizon before him.

Spread out before the group was an expansive rocky field. Dark green twisted plants covered in thorns covered a large surface area of the rocky terrain. Salvador was sitting next to some of these plants, pulling thorns out of his arm while Karima took them out of his neck and shoulders.

Far beyond the rocks were tall mountains that were covered in ash that fell about like snow. Travelling up the mountains was a forest of trees with dark gray bark and dark blue spiky leaves.

The sky was a permanent canvas of different shades of purple with white and black swirling through the colors. The purple sky illuminated the world around them though it lacked a light source. The entirety of the dimension felt mystical and rules from the normal dimension didn't matter here.

Roland sighed, "I can't believe this is the other dimension..."

"It's scarily beautiful." Lilith added, awestruck at the sky.

Out past the mountains between two ridges, a small red light shined in the shape of an oval.

"What's that?" Karima asked while helping Salvador stand up on his sore legs.

Zero pulled out his sniper and zoomed in as much as he could in his scope. After he discovered what the light was, he lowered his sniper.

"What is it hun?" Maya asked, looking up at Zero as he stared off into the distance.

"Those mountains look to be about twenty thousand feet tall..." Zero started before pausing, "That light..."

"Hun...?" Maya grabbed onto Zero's hand.

Zero turned slightly so he could look at Roland, Lilith, and Mordecai. "That light is from a window in a tower. It's taller than the mountains."

"Wow. Maybe the Eridians are there?" Mordecai deduced.

"There was a figure in the window... I think it saw us." Zero added.

"Wait, what? How could it have seen us?" Karima asked in a panicky voice.

Roland shook his head, "I don't think anything knows we're out here."

Mordecai agreed, "Yeah, unless they have a sniper-"

The low drone of a horn entered the area, bouncing past the mountains from the tower. More red lights turned on, dotting across the sky above and around the mountains with hundreds of specks.

Zero looked through his sniper, "There's more towers and figures!"

Mordecai cursed under his breath, "Shit."

* * *

**Yay! We're finally in the other dimension! More of it will be shown. This place is pretty crazy with how I imagine it.**


End file.
